Awe of She
by GYRAX
Summary: My first shot at romance. Overnight, Shinobu goes through a change in hormones and ages six years, so now her attraction to Keitaro could finally become a full fledged romance. First, she now has to deal with a load of new problems. [AU] 13th Chapter up!
1. How to Deal with a monster Growth Spurt

Note: I do not own Love Hina, or any other intellectual properties. They are all copyrights of their respectful owners. The rest, however, is MINE, BEE-YOTCHES!

Overnight, Shinobu goes through a radical change in hormones and ages six years, so now her attraction to Keitaro could finally be taken to a whole new level. However, she now has to deal with her newfound body, as well as the reality of a relationship, and a slowly developing rivalry with Naru herself.

This is my first shot at a romance fic; so don't be too hard on me. This is originally meant as an experimental fic, so it's not just an ordinary Keitaro/Adult Shinobu pairing. Also, if you haven't read Drgnmastr-Alex's _Love Hina: New and Old Faces, Same Zaniness_ then shame on you. You can find it on my "Favorite Stories" list.

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GYRAX Presents… 

_Awe of She_

Chapter 1: _How to Deal with a Monster Growth Spurt_

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It was a simple crush. How many people lived through their teenage years without having a crush on someone sometime or another? It's a wonderful feeling you get straight in the heart, when you admire someone; you don't even give a damn about age difference, as clearly illustrated in Naru's crush on Seta from cram school, and of course, Shinobu's current attraction the Hinata Sou's landlord. If your crush on someone is strong enough, you'll think you have developed a stronger, more matured love for that person and you may believe that you have what it takes to start an actual relationship and take it to the next level, and hang on to the belief that nothing could ever go wrong; ignorance truly is bliss, as in a state such as that, the truth couldn't touch you. This wasn't Shinobu's case quite yet, but she did have a deep admiration for him, especially after how kind he has been to her over time, but one night something is about to take it to another level.

Welcome to another episode of _Love Hina_. Watch Keitaro trip on an imaginary rock and fall with his hand on Shinobu's leg. Watch Naru's stupid little head think he's doing something perverted, as her stupid little foot boots him to the ionosphere. Watch Shinobu watch the unfolding chaos, as her eyes become the size of vinyl records. Watch it over, and over, and over again into the night.

It was a Saturday night; the sky was without a cloud and the moon was full. Because it was the nighttime didn't mean that the Tyndall effect wasn't at work; the moon shines a brilliant blue light into Shinobu's room and on the sleeping girl. In that moment, she begins to glow a faint white aura. She starts to cringe in pleasure as the bars containing a caged passion slowly chip away, releasing a whole new dimension of desire in her heart. Her body then levitates, and the unthinkable finally happens.

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_Meanwhile, somewhere near Baltimore, MD, the original hometown of Dave Chappelle, GYRAX laughs his ass off in quite an evil manner._

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Early next morning, Keitaro walks downstairs and into the dining room; there he sees the girls sitting at the table. "What's going on here?" 

"We're waiting for Shinobu." Kitsune answered. "We wanted some of her kick-ass cooking, but she hasn't even gotten up yet. She's late."

"Umm," Naru interjected. "Didn't you guys think of actually waking her up?"

"We thought of it for a second," Su replied. "But we immediately passed it. Trust me; unless it's for school, you don't want to wake up Shinomu."

(O)

Shinobu wakes up. When she sits up, she begins to feel a heavy burden on her chest. When she looks down to see what it is, she freaks.

(O)

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" The scream is so loud, the others could hear it all the way from the dining room and they run upstairs. They then hear "MY GOD! MY KNOCKERS ARE GARGANTUAN!"

"WHAT?" Keitaro freezes at the last step, and then he slips and falls back down the stairs, crashing into Motoko. He gets up and brushes the dust off of him. Then he looks at Motoko, who is still lying on the ground. "Whoops. Um… Watch out for falling landlords?"

The samurai gets up and runs up the steps, letting this incident slip; there were bigger problems at hand, right now. Keitaro closely follows.

Once he gets to the second floor, the landlord sees everyone gather around Shinobu's room. He quickly goes in, despite having heard Naru shout, "Hey, don't get in there, yet!" at him. As he enters the room, Keitaro just looks to his left, and there he sees a naked girl, with blue hair extending to her back. She turns around and sees Keitaro; her sapphire eyes pierce his own. Keitaro quickly recognizes her facial features, but he could hardly believe it.

Naru comes seemingly out of nowhere with her fist ready to sock! The girl suddenly reacts and pushes Keitaro aside. With the greatest of ease, she opens her right palm and blocks Naru's atomic punch. The impact sent a very faint shockwave across the room.

"How in the world…" Motoko trails off.

The girl unexpectedly jumps back a few feet, with her eyes the side of vinyl records and her arms flailing wildly. "It was just a bad reflex! A reflex, I swear! Aaaaauuuuu!"

"Shinobu," Keitaro asks. "Is that you?"

"Sempai?"

"Good Lordy! It IS you!" Keitaro shouts. "You've gotten older!"

"Really?" Su adds. She whips out what looks like a yellow remote control, aims it at Shinobu, and presses a red button. Then, information pops up on the little LCD screen built on above the red button. She nods her head as she reads it. "Yep, it's Shinomu, all right, but according to my anatomical scanner, her physical age is nineteen!"

"Wow." Kitsune added. "She's almost as old as we are now, Keitaro."

Naru turns to Su. "What the hell were you thinking?"

"Nothing." Su answers. "I was just sleeping with Motoko last night."

"It couldn't have been a red moon." Keitaro adds. "Or else Su would've been transformed (and it would've only lasted through the night)."

"Naru-sempai?" Shinobu interrupts. "May I borrow your clothes… and your underwear? I don't want my chest to be flopping around."

"Umm… sure." Naru answers. With that, Shinobu walks out of the room.

Everyone stands and watches her, bewildered over what to do now.

(O)

"I still think Su did it." Naru says, pacing back and forth across Keitaro's room.

Su is usually the prime suspect for things like this. Yet, just because she's a genius, doesn't mean she's always the cause of such scenarios. Okay. Most of the time, she is.

"What just happened back there?" Keitaro asks. "I always thought she had that 'discretionary' gene."

Then, the lid covering the hole on the ceiling of Keitaro's room moves and Shinobu jumps down. She's wearing a yellow turtleneck sweatshirt, a red skirt, and brown pantyhose. She has her hair tied in a ponytail. "How do I look?"

"You look great." Keitaro answered.

"Just one thing that bothers me." Shinobu says. "I borrowed one of Naru's biggest bras, and it's still too tight. Should I go over and borrow one of Kitsune's?"

Keitaro whispers to Naru. "You can cancel out that thing I just said about 'discretionary genes'."

"She HAS been acting weird since this morning." Naru says that on the outside, but inside her head, she's really saying, _HER BREASTS ARE BIGGER THAN MINE? AND I CAN'T BELIEVE SHE TOLD THAT TO KEITARO, RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME, EVEN!_

"She certainly can't go to school, now." Keitaro says.

Naru snaps back to reality. "O-Of course not! Not in her condition! So what are you planning to do about it?"

"No fucking clue." Keitaro answers. "You have any ideas?"

"First, we need to know the telephone number to Shinobu's school." Naru says.

"I'll ask her." Keitaro responds. He walks out of the room, with Naru following him.

(O)

Meanwhile, Su is cooking something up in her room. Sparks are flying everywhere and you could hear various mechanical sounds. She's up to something.

(O)

Later, Keitaro walks downstairs to the lobby, with Naru and Shinobu following him. Shinobu's face is red, probably because she feels some embarrassment over what she said earlier. The bluenette is having a hard time figuring out what's wrong with her, but she's sure she has a theory or two.

Keitaro picks up the phone and dials a number; a short pause ensues as Keitaro waits for a response. Then he speaks. "Hello? Yeah, it's Keitaro Urashima. I'm the landlord of the Hinata Sou." Short pause. "Yeah, I just want to tell you that Shinobu Maehara isn't going to school for at least a few days." Short pause. "She has a… sickness, so she's pretty much… sick." Short pause.

Naru sweatdrops.

Keitaro takes a few seconds to think, and then he continues. "Yeah, she's got, umm… Lupus!

Naru and Shinobu both facefault simultaneously.

"All right." Keitaro says. "I'll tell her that you gave your highest regards. All right. Bye." He hangs up and turns to the two girls, who just stood back up.

"Did they buy it?" Naru asks, with heavy doubt in her voice.

"Actually," Keitaro answers. "It went surprisingly well, considering that I don't have a fucking clue what Lupus is."

The two girls facefault again.

"Well," Naru says. "It's…"

"It's an autoimmune disease that, for unknown reasons, causes the immune system to go hyperactive and attack normal tissues, which results in inflammation." Shinobu interrupts.

"Oh, then get well soon." Keitaro says. A silence fills the room, until Keitaro speaks again. "It's just a joke, sheesh!"

"So," Naru says. "We're going to have her just hang around here? I hardly find that adequate."

"She doesn't need no school, anyway!" Keitaro exclaims. "She's an Iron Chef, so we should have he compete in the motherfucking Iron Chef! When's the next tournament, anyway?"

"I don't know." Naru replies. "I don't keep track of crap like that; ask Shinobu."

"I'm not sure either." Shinobu admits. Then, she smells something. "Is that cologne I smell?"

"Uh, yeah." Naru answers. "It's a new fragrance; it's from Calvin Klein."

"Crap!" Shinobu shouts. "I forgot to tell you that I'm allergic to Ca… I'm aller-ka… ah… ah… ACHOO!" Suddenly, a strong gust of wind circulated the lobby, blowing anything that wasn't nailed to the ground, and lifting Shinobu's skirt. "KYAAAAAH!" She puts her hands in a strategic place to cover up until the gust dies out.

Keitaro tries to figure out what happened. "Wh-Whoa! Where did that wind come from? Umm, Naru?"

Naru is giving him an evil glare that would make Charlton Heston run like mad. "I don't know how you did it, but I know you did it!" She winds hr fist up and…

**POW!** Shinobu socks Naru's face dead on, causing her to bounce around the walls like a rubber ball gone completely out of control, until she eventually crashes through the front doors and out of the Hinata Sou. Keitaro and Shinobu could only watch in pure astonishment.

"Auuuuuuuu!" Shinobu cries out. "Bad reflex again!" She takes Keitaro's hand and tightly holds it. "Come on, Sempai! We have to help her!" With that, she drags him out of the house.

_She IS acting weird._ Keitaro thinks.

They run out of the house and down the stairs leading to it. They stop in the middle of the stairs to see Naru walking back up with a bloody nose.

And Keitaro just could not stop himself. "Damn, Naru! Shinobu really socked you!"

"Yeah, she did." Naru replies.

Shinobu runs to her. "Naru-sempai! Are you all right?" Suddenly, her right foot slips, and she gives Naru a high kick to the chin, causing her to fall back down to the bottom of the steps. Shinobu flips. "Auuuuuuuu! I did it again! Please tell me there's something wrong with me, Sempai!"

"Relax." Keitaro responds. "It was just a bad reflex. Now let's help Naru."

(O)

Later, Naru lies on her futon, wrapped in bandages, almost looking like a mummy.

"I'm sorry, Naru-sempai!" Shinobu says. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

"Don't beat yourself up over it." Keitaro speaks. "It's probably one of those phases you girls go through. It'll be over before you know it."

Shinobu looks at Keitaro, then down on the floor. _This can't possibly be a phase._ She thinks. _I beat up Naru-sempai twice! TWICE! There's definitely something wrong with me. Could I have some unrequited love for Sempai inside me that may have awakened, causing me to defend him, even if it means attacking Naru-sempai?_

(O)

Kitsune's watching TV, but there's practically nothing on, so she's now bored as hell. She hears someone approach and turns her head to see Su, with some sort of ray gun. She's curious over what it is. "Hey, Su. Watcha holding?"

"It's my Hormonal Reconfiguration Gun, Mr. Horny Mark I™. It's untested, but if it works, it may bring Shinomu back to her adorable normal self."

"That sounds like good news." Kitsune replies. "We gotta tell the others." They both run downstairs.

They go to the dining room, but they only see Motoko building what looks like a Zen temple out of toothpicks.

"Motoko?" Kitsune asks. "Where's Shinobu?"

"I believe she's still upstairs in Naru's room." Motoko answers. "Naru's been through some serious injuries. I can sure tell you she doesn't have the immortality thing going on nearly as well as Urashima. I already visited her and gave her a get well card."

"My God!" Kitsune says. "Su, we're going to Naru's room!"

They quickly run upstairs, while Motoko continues with her toothpick structure.

(O)

Shinobu hears someone coming and turns to the door, which opens quite swiftly. Kitsune and Su walk in the room quickly, both heading towards her.

Shinobu greets them. "Hi. You have get well cards for Naru-sempai?"

"Actually," Kitsune responds. "We have something for you."

Su pulls out her ray gun. "Meet Mr. Horny Mark I™!"

"WAAAAUGH!" Shinobu cries out.

"It's just a Hormonal Reconfiguration Gun." Su explains. "One shot should change you back to your adorable normal self." She aims it at her.

"Really?" Shinobu mutters. She looks at the ray gun. She begins to feel tingles all over her body as she stares down the ray gun's barrel. A drop of sweat slowly trickles down her cheek. In that instant… she runs for it! She pushes Su aside and makes a mad dash out the door. The others quickly follow her.

Keitaro turns to Naru. "Wait right here, Naru." He runs out of the room and out of her sight.

"Sure thing." Naru says. "It's not like I'm going anywhere."

(O)

Shinobu runs across the hallways of the third story, thinking to herself. _Why am I running away? Don't I WANT to go back to normal?_ She runs down the stairs and into the hallways of the second story; she still thinks to herself. _Could there be a part of my new self that's conflicting against my former self? That has to be it, or else I would already be carefree and thirteen. Part of me really wants to stay like this, the same part of me that wants Sempai!_ She runs down the stairs and into the first floor, where she runs through the dining room.

"I've got you now, Shinomu!" Su opens fire, but the shot misses Shinobu, but instead obliterates Motoko's toothpick structure.

The samurai looks at the singed remains of what was the result of many hours of hard work. Her face turns red with rage. "My perfect replica of the Ginkakujin in Kyoto is RUINED!" She takes out her bokken and runs after Su and the others. "Come back here!"

"No can do!" Su responds. "I'm on a roll!" he keeps shooting at Shinobu, but the girl manages to dodge all of the shots. When Shinobu runs out the front door, however, she disappears. The others go out and look around the front yard to see where she went, but it seems she's nowhere to be found.

(O)

Shinobu stands up and looks at her surroundings in confusion. It doesn't take long until she finds out where she is. She freaks out. "HOW DID I GET ON THE ROOF?"

(O)

Everyone else hears it and looks up; indeed, she is on the roof. They hardly believe their eyes and quickly get back to the house.

Shinobu walks across the roof when she sees Keitaro and the others approaching her. When she sees Su with the ray gun, she makes a run for it again.

"Shinobu!" Keitaro cries out as he attempts to reach her, but to no avail, as the girl runs even faster away from them.

"What did I do?" Keitaro asks, unaware that it's Su she running away from.

She suddenly stops at the edge of the roof and looks down and realizes she's at the front of the building because she sees cement below. Then, she turns around and sees the others in front of her, slowly approaching her. She thinks to herself. _What am I doing? Why can't I just let Su zap me back to normal? It would be so much easier!_

Keitaro approaches her. "Shinobu? What's wrong?" He tries to grab her, but she steps back and then the unthinkable happens: she falls off the edge. The whole thing seems like it's playing in slow motion in front of everyone's eyes as her feet leave the roof and her body drops to the cement below.

"SHINOBU!" Keitaro cries out, as he is helpless to stop her freefall. Shinobu closes her eyes tightly and waits for the inevitable.

Then, she opens her eyes and looks around, and what she finds out she could hardly believe herself; she's levitating a foot from the ground, but just as she realized it, she hits the cement. The Hinata housers rush to her aid.

"Are you all right?" Keitaro asks, checking her out to see if there were any injuries; there were none.

"Y-Yeah, I think so." Shinobu responds shakily.

"Excuse me." Motoko interrupts. "This may have been just me, but I swore I saw Shinobu hovering above the ground."

"I saw it too." Keitaro says. "I think she did more than just age. She may have also acquired some sort of Extrasensory Perception."

"She might've found Quado." Kitsune added.

Shinobu sits up and looks at her hands. _I'm psychic…_

Su aims the ray gun back at her. "You ready, Shinomu?"

Shinobu barely nods her head, signaling her to open fire. This time, it's a direct hit, and a puff of smoke fills the area, causing much unwanted coughing among the Hinata housers. When the smoke clears, they could finally see the results, which weren't exactly satisfying. What was before them was a chicken… with Shinobu's head.

"Umm…" Su trails off, not able to think of a word to say. The Shinobu chicken walks up to her and pecks her leg mercilessly. "Shinomu, stop it!" She didn't; the chicken kept pecking in sheer vengeance, until another puff of smoke covers the area, causing more unwanted coughing among the Hinata housers. When the smoke clears again, they see the adult Shinobu that was in front of them a minute earlier.

"So, it was a dud, huh, Su?" Keitaro asks.

"Looks like it." Su agrees. Everyone heads back to the Hinata Sou.

(O)

Later, Kitsune sits by Naru. "Sorry about that. We were just in a jam earlier, but now I'm here, Naru."

"Thanks." Naru mutters.

Meanwhile, Motoko goes back to practicing, because she must always have her swordsmanship skills keen, and she wouldn't bother to restart with her toothpick structure. Su is working on a new way to bring the teenager back to normal. Keitaro and Shinobu are sitting next to one another on a couch in the lobby.

"Where did you get the ability to do that from?" Keitaro asks.

"Levitate?" Shinobu replies. "I don't know. I don't even know how I became like this. I was just sleeping and then it happened."

"And Su failed to reverse it." Keitaro adds. He sighs. "This is going to take quite some time to get used to."

At that moment, Shinobu places her hand on top of his.

To be continued.

PLEASE REVIEW. Tell me what you think.

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See you next chapter. _Ponytail Parade_

I apologize in advance, but I'm going to be at Michigan for the week and I won't be back until at least next Friday, so it'll be a while until I update again.

-GYRAX of The Dark Icon Writers


	2. Ponytail Parade

Note: I do not own Love Hina, or any other intellectual properties. They are all copyrights of their respectful owners. The rest, however, is MINE, BEE-YOTCHES!

I'm glad to say this fic has got two hundred and seventy one hits on its first chapter, as well as eight reviews. It's on the favorites list for seven people, and the alert list for five. For that, I'm happy, but at the same time, that puts a lot of pressure on me, and I'm not sure if I can respond well to pressure. I'll just try my best and hope this next chapter doesn't disappoint. As for those who already submitted their reviews:

**Redwyrm**,** F00l3Al2**,and** havenoname** – Thanks for the comments; I appreciate them.

**Drgnmastr-Alex** – Keep writing and I'll be glad to drop on by for a review.

**NefCanuck **and **encyser** – I'm glad you liked _Love or Die Hina_. As for this fic I'll try not to disappoint.

**BigFics** – I never read _The Hinata Maiden_, so that was merely coincidence; I didn't even notice it until you pointed it out for me. Thanks for the comments.

**VoidHawk** – You may be on to something, there. I'm actually thinking of adding a little _Negima_ spice here and there, now that I think about it. I'm putting your suggestion into consideration. FULGARATIO ALBICANS! (Whoops, sorry. That one just escaped.)

Anyway, here we go.

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GYRAX Presents… 

_Awe of She_

Chapter 2: _Ponytail Parade_

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"Where did you get the ability to do that from?" Keitaro asks.

"Levitate?" Shinobu replies. "I don't know. I don't even know how I became like this. I was just sleeping and then it happened."

"And Su failed to reverse it." Keitaro adds. He sighs. "This is going to take quite some time to get used to."

At that moment, Shinobu places her hand on top of his. They both get up and walk out of the lobby.

Keitaro takes a few seconds to realize that something isn't right. He looks to his right to see that Shinobu's hand is tightly holding his.

"Shinobu, you can let go now." He says. He gets no response. "Really, you can let go of my hand now." He begins to lightly struggle, but to no avail. Then, he tries harder, but still nothing. "Shinobu? This isn't cool. Really, let me go. Waaaaaauuugh! The grip! It's breaking my wrist like a twig that dried up weeks ago! IT'S THE KUNG-FU GRIP OF APOCALYPTIC…huh?" Out of nowhere, Shinobu lets him go, causing him to stumble a bit. He holds his wrist. "She let me go. Shinobu…"

"I need to spend some alone time in my room." Shinobu murmurs. "Please excuse me, Sempai." She runs up the stairs.

Keitaro continues looks at his wrist. "Shinobu's definitely not acting right. Thank God the others didn't see this. Why did I feel static when she held me, anyway." He pauses for a moment to ponder. "Could she be an electric person? I read a disturbing article on them on the Internet once." He takes another moment to think about it some more. "I doubt it. Besides, that wouldn't explain Shinobu's sudden aging. Anyway, I may need to really heighten my awareness, now."

(O)

A week has passed since that day. Keitaro wakes up one morning, only to hear a little commotion. He gets up and opens the door to see what was going on. He's a bit surprised as to what he sees; Shinobu's running across the floor with a washrag, but that isn't all of it. She's running at incredible speed, probably even faster than an Olympic sprinter.

Shinobu's wearing yellow and green hooded T-shirt with light blue denim shorts that extend to her knees. During the past week, Shinobu managed to get her own clothes.

"Shinobu?" Keitaro asks. "What's going on?"

"Oh," Shinobu reacts. "While the pot was boiling, I took the opportunity to wash the floors, clean the windows, and fix that hole I made on the roof four days ago."

"Shouldn't the water be boiling already?"

"It's not the boil I want though. You know, you can come downstairs with me and I can show you how to make a neat Western recipe I picked up from Wolfgang Puck."

"Seriously?" Keitaro replies. "All right, then. I'm coming."

(O)

"Jaeger Schnitzel." Shinobu says cheerfully.

"Jaeger Schnitzel?" Keitaro repeats.

"Yep." Shinobu replies. "Don't worry, though. It's an easy recipe. I found it on a website."

"Why a Western recipe, though?" Keitaro asks. "And why a dinner meal for breakfast?"

"Well," Shinobu responds. "I just wanted to make sure you had something you'd know how to cook in case I got sick. I never really got past that part."

"That's all right, you already have everything prepared so let's just start cooking."

Shinobu directs him to the counter where an onion lies on top of a cutting board. "All right, so the ingredients are 20 ounces beef or veal or venison leg, tri tip or shoulder, cut into 1/2-inch, salt and pepper, flour, for dredging, 3 ounces olive oil, 1/2 cup chopped onion, 1/4 cup chopped carrot, 1/4 cup chopped celery bouquet garni (thyme, bay leaf, parsley), 2 cups red wine, 1 cup veal stock, 1 ounce butter, 2 ounces thick cut bacon, diced, 6 ounces pearl onions, boiled, 2 cups wild mushrooms, 2 tablespoons minced parsley leaves, and noodles or mashed potatoes, as an accompaniment."

"So what am I supposed to do, now?" Keitaro inquires.

"First." Shinobu stands behind him. Then she places her hands gently on his as he picks up the knife. She positions them just right. "Let's chop the onion. We only need a quarter cup." She has Keitaro chop it, but at lightning speed.

Keitaro freaks. "WAAAAAAAARRRGH! MY FINGERS! I DON'T WANT MY LITTLE FINGERS CUT OFF!"

"Calm down." Shinobu says. "I know what I'm doing; I'm a professional." She has Keitaro put the chopped onion in one place and put the carrot on the cutting board. "Now for the carrot." She has Keitaro chop it, also at lightning speed.

Keitaro freaks. "WAAAAAAAARRRGH! MY FINGERS! I DON'T WANT MY LITTLE FINGERS CUT OFF!"

"Again, calm down." Shinobu says. "I know what I'm doing; I'm a professional." She has Keitaro put the chopped carrot in one place and put the celery on the cutting board. "And finally, the celery." She has Keitaro chop it, also at lightning speed.

Keitaro freaks. "WAAAAAAAARRRGH! MY FINGERS! I don't want them to be stumps and have lepers look at me and say 'God, what a freak'!"

"Don't fret none," She replies. "We're done chopping. Excuse me, while I put away the knife and take out the seasonings." She throws the knife in the air. Then, she does handstand, the sole of her right foot balancing knife by its handle. Then, she tosses it to a nearby drawer. She stands back on her feet shuts the drawer with her left foot. Then she approaches a cupboard. "Okay. Salt, Pepper, Thyme, Bay Leaf, Parsley." She throws them all over her right shoulder, and they all perfectly align on the nearby counter as they land.

Keitaro couldn't help but stare in amazement. "Wow! Where did you learn to do that?"

"I don't know," Shinobu answers. "But I'm getting a kick out of it. It must be that magic aura I got."

During the past week, the Hinata residents discovered that Shinobu is in fact, surrounded by a magic aura, so it may prove to be quite difficult to bring her back to her normal self.

"Hold on a minute." Keitaro says. "Before you do anything else, let me get Naru; she's GOT to see this!"

"But isn't she asleep, Sempai?" Shinobu asks.

"Not for long." Keitaro replies. He runs upstairs.

Shinobu sweat drops. "I guess I should follow him; he'll need the protection."

Keitaro slips on the floor because apparently, it's far too clean for his socks to maintain traction, and of course, Naru was the unfortunate victim that was just at the wrong place at the wrong time.

Motoko finds Keitaro on top of Naru, with his hand placed firmly on her right breast. Her face turns crimson over the sight and she gets her sword out. "Urashima! You slime ball!" She prepares her sword for a mighty swing.

"PERVERT!" Naru's already ready to punch.

"ROCK SPLITTING SWORD…huh?" Motoko notices that her sword was no longer in her hands. "What happened?" Suddenly, she turns and sees Shinobu behind her. The girl winds her fist up and socks Motoko straight to the face, sending her on a collision course with Naru's eye.

Shinobu freaks. "OH NO! WHAT HAVE I DONE!"

(O)

Later, at the doctor's…

"And, her right eye is rendered completely inoperable." The doctor confirms. "We'll have to go through an experimental procedure to fix it. Bear with me here."

"What the hell did you do, Shinobu?" Keitaro asks.

"I have no idea." Shinobu replies nervously. "IT'S ALL MY FAULT!" She runs out of the room.

(O)

A week passes by.

"See what I told you?" Su says, as she and Kitsune look at a computer monitor in Su's jungle of a room. "The differences between 'heterochromia iridis' and 'heterochromia iridium' are vast, y'all."

"Vast, y'all?" Kitsune replies. "Are you mocking me?"

"No." Su answers defensively. "I'm just saying is that heterochromia iridis is when two parts of the iris of the eye are different colors. Heterochromia iridium is just having two eyes of different colors."

"Like David Bowie." Kitsune adds. "I just wanted to know what that condition was because it wouldn't stop bugging the hell out of me. Speaking of, I found quite an interesting story on how Bowie got his green eye. You see, back when he was in high school, he got into a fight with a friend of his, or some other kid, I don't know. Anyway, the other guy punched him square in his right eye, and he wore a ring that time, so the ring hit him dead in the eye. It turns out it hurt like a whole new level in Hell, and he had to go through some major surgery and… AND NOW HE'S SEXY!" She notices Keitaro washing the floors, going right past the room. "Keitarooooooooo!"

Keitaro stops and turns to Kitsune. "Not now. I'm busy."

Kitsune quickly holds him. "Can you traumatize your eyes so that you would have a blue one and a green one? It'll make you sexy."

"MWAHAHAHAHA! That ain't happening." Keitaro then looks at her funny. "What are you doing?"

Kitsune replies. "Sometimes, I just want to hug you."

"Drawing circles on my chest doesn't qualify as embrace." Keitaro blankly responds. With that, Kitsune hold him tighter. "Excuse me?" He struggles, but it doesn't help. "Can't I just go through one day without any of this bullshit?"

"Away!" A female voice demands. Suddenly, Shinobu has her left foot on Kitsune's head, pushing her away. "Away! Away! Stay away!" She turns to Keitaro. "All the groceries are on the dining room table, Sempai."

"Thanks, Shinobu." Keitaro replies. With that, he walks off, with Shinobu closely following him. Shinobu looks back at Kitsune and sticks her tongue out at her.

All Kitsune does is watch with a look on her face. "Oh, that is so wrong."

(O)

"You're getting used to things pretty quickly." Keitaro says, as he and Shinobu put the groceries away.

"I don't think so." Shinobu replies. "I appreciate the fresh air, though. I thought I'd be cooped up in the house, sort of like Repunzel, because my sudden aging. I still look my thirteen year old self in a way, so I thought you'd keep me in because you were afraid people would suspect something. Again, thanks for the fresh air."

"No problem. You know, it wasn't much more than two weeks and already you changed." Keitaro adds.

"You think so?" Shinobu asks.

"Well, yeah."

"I still call you Sempai."

Keitaro stands there silently and sweat drops. "…True."

Motoko enters the room with bandages around her head. "So, how's Naru's right eye?"

"Well," Shinobu responds. "It's fully recovered. The doctors had to do a little work, but now it's back to normal, vision and everything, but there's just one exception."

(O)

"It's a different color." Naru says to Kitsune.

"Sorry I was such a buzz kill." Kitsune replies. "How'd you get that green eye in the first place?"

Naru hesitates, but eventually speaks. "Well, Shinobu socked Motoko, who crashed straight into my eye, and that's basically what happened. The doctors did a little surgery and, despite my new color, it's perfectly normal, now."

"That must've hurt." Kitsune replies. "Glad to see the two of you are all right. I wasn't there when you guys went to the doctor. Come to think of it, that sounds like what happened to British rock star David Bowie."

"Really?" Naru asks.

"Yeah." Kitsune answers. She walks with Naru to her room. "Besides, a lot of people find heterochromia iridium to be a very attractive feature."

"Thanks for the uplift Kitsune. I'm going to my room, now."

"See ya later."

(O)

"She's ok," Motoko says. "But I still have this bump on my head."

"Aaaaauuuu!" Shinobu cries out. She repeatedly bows her head. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"

"It's all right." Motoko replies. "I forgive you, and I'm sure Naru did too, after the fiftieth bouquet of flowers you gave her."

(O)

Naru slides open her door, and a pile of bouquets falls on her, burying her on the spot. She sweat drops. "Again with the flower-slide."

(O)

Later that evening, Shinobu lies on her futon; she has a new pair of strawberry pajamas on. She stares at the ceiling, trying to evaluate her behavior for the last two weeks. Since that incident, there wasn't a night when she was not thinking about what could possibly be wrong with her.

_I'm taking this too far._ She thinks. _I wanted to defend Sempai, but last week, I took Naru's eye out, and now it's green. I'm sure she's still angry with me for doing that. Add to it I just acted rude to Kitsune, and why was I acting so possessive towards Sempai? Surely, this is that other part of me that was acting up for the last few weeks. I need to find this part of me, the part that'll do whatever it takes to have Sempai, and bring it under control. Otherwise, this'll continue, and who knows what would happen next? Who am I kidding, anyway? I mean, I can't be the promise girl; I wasn't even born back then. It's the promise girl Sempai's after, so why would I want him? And how am I able to perform these strange feats of magic? Could that also be a part of my new self, because when I wanted to defend Sempai, something weird always happened. That magic aura…_

With that, she slowly closes her eyes and drifts into sleep.

(O)

The next day arrives. Naru wakes up and removed the lid covering the hole to Keitaro's room. She realizes that he's already awake; because he just walked out by the time she looked down the hole. She jumps down the hole and follows him out of the room.

Keitaro notices her. "Hey, Naru." He says. He takes notice to her newfound green eye. "I'm liking the green eye, Naru."

"Really?"

"Yeah." He replies. "Gives you that element of exotic beauty. You have that 'Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman' look."

Naru's cheeks turn red. _Kitsune's right._ She thinks. _This is an attractive feature._

Suddenly, Shinobu comes from behind Keitaro and latches on to his arms. "Sempai. It's time for breakfast. Come downstairs, already."

"Umm…Ok." Keitaro replies as he's dragged downstairs.

Naru grows an irritated look on her face as she watches them. "What are you doing?"

Shinobu turns to her in response. "I'm just politely directing Sempai to the dining room. There's nothing wrong with that, is there?"

"There is if you're holding him like that." She answers. "Don't tell me you're babying that pervert."

"Is that jealousy I hear in your voice?" She muses.

"No. It's annoyance because you were always there next to him, as if you were encouraging him."

"You want him to have a crappy self-esteem?"

"Don't be ridiculous!" Naru reacts. "Of course, I don't, but I don't want him to walk around thinking he can get away with everything."

"Ok, mom." Shinobu retorts. "Just come down and eat with us." She continues taking Keitaro down the steps.

Naru's thrown off a bit by Shinobu's sudden change in attitude. Never before has she heard something like that come out of her mouth. She shakes it off and proceeds to the dining room.

(O)

Everyone's eating breakfast at the dining room table, with Shinobu sitting right next to Keitaro. Everyone is conversing with one another. Kitsune looks under that table for something, then she pops back out and looks at Shinobu with a foxy grin on her face.

"Aww, how cute?" Kitsune muses. "I think Shinobu likes you, Keitaro. She's holding your hand."

"Excuse me?" Keitaro looks around, and indeed, Shinobu's hand is right on top of his. His face turns red.

And so does Shinobu's. "Cut it out, Kitsune! Besides, what're you doing looking under the table, anyway?"

"Really," Motoko adds. "That's kind of low."

"Don't start that." Kitsune replies.

"Shinomu is being awfully forward towards Keitaro, though." Su adds. "I haven't seen her like this before. I didn't even need to look underneath the table to notice that."

"Come to think of it," Kitsune says. "That may explain why Shinobu was being so helpful to him lately. Last week, she taught him how to prepare a Wolfgang Puck recipe. (Which was kick-ass food, by then way.)"

"That was when my eye was taken out." Naru interjects. "Don't remind me."

Shinobu couldn't take any more pressure from the gossip surrounding her. Her face grows red, and she stands up quickly, throwing hr arms all over the place. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUU! I CAN'T TAKE ANY MORE! STOP TALKING ABOUT IT, PLEASE!"

"Now, look at what you guys did!" Naru shouted. "You put too much pressure on poor Shinobu!"

"You were talking about it, too!" Kitsune snaps back.

"No, I wasn't!" Naru reacts defensively. "I just said not to remind me of last week!"

"Exactly!" Kitsune replies.

Naru catches something in the corner of her eye. She looks to see Keitaro, with his head firmly on Shinobu's breasts. What happens is a bit too predictable. "Oh, you have balls, you know that? YOU PERVERT!" She socks Keitaro, sending him through the roof, and into the Mesosphere.

Shinobu stands up and gives Naru an angry stare. "Will you stop picking on him?"

"I'm picking on him, is that it?" Naru spits back. "Come to think of it, you were always sticking up for him ever since two weeks ago. I think you might actually want to ride his balloon-y pony!"

Shinobu's face instantly turned red. Then she made a deep inhale and screamed. "**I DO NOT WANT TO RIDE HIS BALLOON-Y PONY!**" All of a sudden, a gust of wind circulates the dining room, blowing over the food, and just about everything else that wasn't nailed to the floor, including the girls. After she finishes screaming, Shinobu stands there with her head hung low, and she leaves the dining room.

Motoko stands up. "Please excuse me." With that, she leaves, also.

Naru accumulates the mess around her. "Am I going to have to clean this up by myself?"

"Don't worry about it." Kitsune stands up. "I'll help."

"Thanks, Kitsune."

"I'll help, too!" Su exclaims cheerfully. "I have my world famous Mess Cleaner Mk. IV with me!"

"No machines!" Naru shouts. "Kitsune and I will handle it."

"Okie-dokie!" Su leaves.

(O)

In the meantime, Shinobu walks to her room, but before she enters, she stops and turns around. There, she sees Motoko with a look of concern on her face. "What is it?"

"Shinobu?" Motoko says. "You made Keitaro fall on your breasts didn't you?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I saw your leg dragging him towards you. You did it on purpose. You've been acting pretty wacko, and I think I found out exactly why."

"You have?"

"Yes." She takes out her bokken. "Stand still, Shinobu. This will only hurt a bit."

"What're you doing?" Shinobu asks nervously.

"Your sudden aging and use of magic: it's clear you've been possessed by a demon." Motoko answers with a look of determination on her face. "I'm going to smack it right out of you!"

"Aaaaaauuuuuuuuuuu!" Shinobu cries out. Then, she thinks fast and throws something on Motoko's face.

When the samurai takes it off her face and examines it, she freaks. "AAACK! TURTLE!" She instantly passes out.

Shinobu looks at her and sweats. _She's right!_ She thinks to herself. _I AM acting whacko! What to do? What to do? I'll have to take her to her room before anyone catches me!_ She picks Motoko up by one hand and does just that.

(O)

Later, Shinobu walks out to the roof and sees Keitaro doing laundry. She approaches him. "Sempai? May I help you with that?"

"Thanks, Shinobu." Keitaro responds.

"I'll do the underwear, so you won't have to be mistaken for a pervert."

"I think that's too late."

"It doesn't matter." Shinobu smiles. "I just want to help you out."

"Again, thanks." Keitaro pauses for a moment as if he was hesitating to do something. A long pause fills the area.

Shinobu suspects something's up. "Sempai? What is it? What's wrong?" She holds on to his right hand.

Keitaro still stands there, only now his cheeks are red. He slowly turns to Shinobu. "Do you really like me like that? Like they said you did?"

At this moment, Naru gets on the roof and approaches the two.

Shinobu turns away, blushing.

Keitaro notices he said something stupid. "Sorry I said that."

"It's not your fault." Shinobu replies. "I was the one who freaked out. I shouldn't have done that. I just didn't have that much restraint."

"It's all right." Keitaro responds. "I thought the girls were being a little rude towards you."

"So, it's the big bad Hinata girls, is it? For your information, you were the one who fell on Shinobu's breasts, you little slime ball! Don't you go and say it was all our fault!"

Shinobu turns to her, but with her eyebrows slanted to express irritation. "Not now, Naru. The adults are talking and doing adult stuff, now. So, go back to your room and figure out which hole the square peg goes through."

That struck a chord on Naru. She angrily walks up to Shinobu and grabs her shoulder. She stares right at her, her green eye giving off an eerie shimmer. "I don't know where the hell that came from, but I don't like your attitude, Missy!"

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning strikes her, although there's not a cloud in the sky.

Shinobu brushes the dust off of her and pushes her. "I think you should go now, Naru. I don't want things to get any more difficult. Now, go!" She pushes her one last time and walks back to Keitaro.

Keitaro speaks. "What was that about?"

"Sorry about that. It's ok, though; it's all under control. I just lost it a little bit. Now, if you excuse me, I need to go, now." She leaves, too.

Keitaro is left there, puzzled.

(O)

Later that evening, Shinobu lies on her futon; she has a new pair of strawberry pajamas on. She stares at the ceiling, trying to evaluate what she did today. She lays there, silent.

"… I was such an ass, today. I didn't mean it. I didn't even get a chance to apologize to Naru-sempai. I guess I'll do that tomorrow." With that, she slowly closes her eyes and drifts into sleep.

(O)

The next day arrives. Naru wakes up and removed the lid covering the hole to Keitaro's room. She jumps down the hole to wake up Keitaro. "Wake up, Keitaro. It's morning…" When she takes the covers off, she sees something truly unexpected. Shinobu has her arms and legs latching on to Keitaro; she's wearing a silky, short nightdress. "WHAT THE HELL!"

Keitaro wakes up. He rubs his eyes. "Wh-what's going on?" Suddenly, he feels a heavy burden on him. He sees Shinobu latching on to him, and he jumps up, rocking the girl off of him, and back on the futon. Shinobu wakes up, now, and she also rubs her eyes.

Keitaro freaks out as he looks down at the groggy bluenette. "Holy crap! How did this happen?" He looks back at Naru. "Naru! It's not what you think!"

"Save it!" She winds up her fist, but something suddenly pushes her down, making her fall on her butt.

Shinobu stands up in front of Keitaro with her arms spread out, as if she's defending him. "Leave him alone!"

Motoko walks over to them, but hits something. After a few seconds, she figures out what she hit. "A magic barrier?"

The others widen their eyes over what they heard and look at the two. Apparently, there seems to be some sort of magic barrier protecting Keitaro and Shinobu. The barrier just becomes visible, with a faint violet glow.

"What is this about?" Naru asks.

"I made a decision. I won't allow you girls to hurt him anymore! Understand. SEMPAI IS MINE!" Everyone stands there with their eyes the size of vinyl records over what she said, including Keitaro. A second later, Shinobu also displays a look of pure shock. She knew now that instead of trying to suppress this other self, this split personality, she did the exact opposite: she let it take complete control of her. She realizes now and there, that it she may not be able to conquer it alone.

To be continued.

Please review.

* * *

See you next chapter. _Paradise for the Mind, Body, and Soul_

WHOO! That was a long chapter, thirteen pages! To those who stuck around for the first chapter, I hope this one didn't disappoint, and thanks for sticking around; I appreciate it.

(Mmmm…Tab, a.k.a. the soda from _Harvey Birdman_.)

-GYRAX of The Dark Icon Writers


	3. Paradise for the Mind, Body, and Soul

Note: I do not own Love Hina, or any other intellectual properties. They are all copyrights of their respectful owners. The rest, however, is MINE, BEE-YOTCHES!

Allow me to note in advance that I'm no expert in psychology, or anything of the sort. I just watch lots of _Evangelion_.

**Hanenoname** – I'm not sure, but I will have Shinobu master this new power of hers either in this chapter or the next.

**VoidHawk** – You're right about one thing, this Shinobu is awesome. I myself didn't realize how strong she would really be. I have taken your ideas into consideration, and I really like it; who knows, they may come in handy someday.

**NefCanuck** – Indeed it should. Well just see what happens from here.

**Drgnmastr-Alex** – Keep writing and I'll be glad to drop on by for a review.

**Lord Cynic** – It's all her newfound split personality, my friend.

**de bombz**, **great redwyrm**, and **tomdj1701**– Thanks for the comments. I appreciate them.

**bluezone777 of the Dark Icon Writers** – I believe I have you to thank for the Naru bashing. _Love Hina: Evil Edition_ is what I like to call the _Evangelion_ of Naru bashing.

**Hotstreak RMD** – Wuai! Thanks for that comment. (I just can't get over it.)

**BigFics** – My apologies about what happened to your account, dude. Anyways, thanks for your comments. About the barrier, it doesn't really have anything to do with the annex; the barrier was created by Shinobu to protect herself and Keitaro. Like I said to Havenoname, I'll have Shinobu master this power of hers, soon, which is where the _Negima _part of it will really start to kick in.

Well, here we go.

* * *

There seems to be some sort of magic barrier protecting Keitaro and Shinobu. The barrier just becomes visible, with a faint violet glow. 

"What is this about?" Naru asks.

"I made a decision. I won't allow you girls to hurt him anymore! Understand? SEMPAI IS MINE!" Everyone stands there with their eyes the size of vinyl records over what she said, including Keitaro. A second later, Shinobu also displays a look of pure shock. She knew now that instead of trying to suppress this other self, this split personality, she did the exact opposite: she let it take complete control of her. She realizes now and there, that it she may not be able to conquer it alone.

* * *

GYRAX Presents… 

_Awe of She_

Chapter 3: _Paradise for the Mind, Body, and Soul_

_

* * *

_  
Shinobu lowers her arms, and the barrier begins to dissipate. Afterwards, she looks at the other girls, as she stands there motionless.

Naru stares at her, with her head racing. _I can't believe she went as far as to say something like that in front of all of us. She actually confessed her love for him, completely out of the blue. Does this mean… no way. It can't be!_

Motoko takes a couple steps towards Shinobu, pretty sure that it's safe, but still cautiously just to be on the safe side. "Shinobu? I sense a strange aura emitting out of you, as if you yourself are trying to suppress this demon possessing you. Are you?"

Shinobu quickly reacts by spreading her arms out and producing the barrier again. Motoko made a smart move to approach with caution, as she's glad that she didn't run into the barrier again. Shinobu stares down the girls as she remains at her spot in front of Keitaro. "You're not going to hurt Sempai, are you?"

_I guess not._ Motoko thinks, as she sees the barrier, and then looks back at the blue-haired girl in front of her.

Naru takes another step forward. "We're not going to hurt him. We're worried about you. You're not acting yourself, Shinobu. We're worried something might have happened to you."

Shinobu pauses for a moment, her face turning from anger to shock. Shinobu lowers her arms again, and the barrier begins to dissipate. Afterwards, she looks at the other girls, as she stands there motionless. She slowly walks out of the room, but before she goes past the door, she takes one more look at them. "If you ever hurt Sempai again, I'll see to it that…" She trails off and leaves the room.

The girls watch her, and then turn back to Keitaro. The poor ronin just sits there in a state of confusion. "What on earth was up with her?" Keitaro asks. "Did she just say she loved me?"

"I'm at a loss for words, right now." Kitsune says. "I'm going to my room, I need some alone time to pinch myself." She leaves.

"It's the demon possessing her." Motoko says. "I tried to stop it once, but I was attacked by what I thought was a turtle, but turned out to be a stuffed animal. This demon's clever; I'll give it that, but what I don't understand is what this thing's motive is. It seems like it's feeding off of Shinobu's affections for Urashima."

"You're saying," Naru replies. "That Shinobu's possessed." A sweat drop appears on her head.

"That's the best answer I came up with." Motoko responds.

"I'll get my 'Grade A Constantine Kit'!" Su exclaims as she, too, leaves the room.

"Should we try and talk to her?" Naru asks.

"No." Motoko replies without missing a beat. "I'll have to be more cautious when I face this demon again, that's all." She leaves, with Naru following her. Keitaro eventually gets up, regains his composure, and leaves his room.

(O)

Later, Naru enters the kitchen, only to see Keitaro chopping an onion. She couldn't help but ask. "You're cooking, now? Where's Shinobu?"

"Oh," Keitaro replies. "She's still in her room. After all that happened this morning, I figured Shinobu needs some time alone in peace, so I decided to cook for her. I'm making Jaeger Schnitzel."

"Is that the only one you know?" Naru asks.

"Well, it's the only one she taught me." He answers. "But that's ok. I like it."

"Ok." Naru says. "I'll be at the table."

"All right."

(O)

Later, the table is set up with everything in its place, including breakfast, which is settled nicely at the center. Keitaro turns to Naru, who puts the last fork on the table; it's a western dish, so such utensils are only appropriate.

"Naru," Keitaro speaks. "You get Su and Motoko. I'll get Kitsune and Shinobu, ok?"

"Sure." Naru nods her head, and they both head upstairs.

While Naru heads towards the third floor, Keitaro heads for Shinobu's room. He slides the door open and peeks inside. "Shinobu? Are you in here? Breakfast is ready." He looks around, but not a trace of life is present. Then, something catches the corner of his eye. He finds a note on Shinobu's futon. Naturally, he picks it up and reads it.

Dear Sempai,

Tell Naru and the others that I'm going to be out for a while. Sorry I can't join you for breakfast. I feel like I can't deal with this split personality of mine, at least not on my own. So, I'm going to see a psychiatrist and hopefully, he/she will tell me what to do. Again, my deepest apologies for leaving you guys like I did; I hope you forgive me. Well, I'll see you later.

Yours truly,

Shinobu Maehara

Keitaro puts down the letter. Then, he hears footsteps. He turns around to see Naru scolding him, with her arms crossed and her left foot tapping on the floor.

"It took you pretty long, so I had to get Kitsune myself." She says.

"Shinobu left us a note." Keitaro replies. "I found it on her futon."

"Let me see." Naru picks up the note and reads it over. She suddenly drops it and looks at Keitaro with a shocked expression on her face. "She went to the psychiatrist?"

"Umm," Keitaro says. "That's what the note says."

Su enters the room. "Hey guys. You know that Grade A Constantine Kit I said I was going to get?"

"Yeah?" Keitaro replies with a drop of sweat on his head.

"It turns out I don't have one."

(O)

"Are you here for an appointment?" Asks a receptionist, sitting at her desk.

"Not really." Shinobu answers from in front of the receptionist's desk. "I wish to set one up, though."

"We're currently busy, but we can set one up for the next week, if we can." The receptionist reaches into a desk drawer and pulls out a pen and a sheet of paper. "State your name, please."

"Wait a second." A voice comes seemingly out of nowhere. Then, a woman who looks to be in her early thirties walks behind the receptionist. The woman is wearing slim glasses over her green eyes, with her brown hair in a neat braided ponytail, extending down to her back. The woman looks straight at Shinobu and waves at her. "Hey, there! If it isn't my baby cousin, how are you doing?" She looks back at the receptionist. "Don't worry, we know each other."

"Excuse me?" Shinobu interrupts.

The woman looks back at her. "We just haven't seen each other since we were kids, she probably doesn't remember me. I remember her, though." She walks to the bluenette. "Come to my office. We have so much to catch on."

"But, Dr. Ikeda," The receptionist interjects. "You have an appointment in twenty minutes with Amagasaki-san. You don't have much time to talk."

"That's plenty of time." Dr. Ikeda replies casually. She takes Shinobu's arm and looks back at the receptionist. "Don't worry your pretty little head, Rianu. This won't take long. I'll be back shortly." She leaves.

The receptionist looks back at her desk and continues her work. "If she keeps getting sidetracked, the boss will catch on, quickly."

(O)

In the psychiatrist's office, Dr. Ikeda steps out of the way so Shinobu enters first. "You first, young lady."

"Sure." The bluenette enters the office. She walks around the room and turns to Dr. Ikeda. "Are you really my cousin?"

"I seriously doubt it," the woman answers with a smile on her face. "That was just to fool Rianu, our receptionist. I had you fooled, too?"

"Yeah." Shinobu answers. "But why did you do that for me? I don't get it."

"I'm being magnanimous, today." Dr. Ikeda answers. "A pretty woman like you shouldn't be troubled by psychological issues, so that's why I'm here."

"You're a psychiatrist?"

"Sure am, girlfriend." The psychiatrist says in a chipper tone. "Lie on that couch right there." She motions her hand to the Freudian style couch. Shinobu nods and lies down, and Dr. Ikeda sits on a chair next to the couch. "All right, dear. What's the problem?"

"Well," Shinobu responds. "I have this crush on a guy, and…"

"Oh my!" Dr. Ikeda exclaims. "Sorry about that. Continue."

"I have a crush on this guy, but it was just that, a crush. Lately, though, I have this part of me that makes me wants him all to myself. I tried to suppress this urge, but as I try to, I begin to act strange and I become more and more possessive."

"I think you just stated your problem." The woman replies. "You're a growing woman, and the more you try to suppress this side of you, the more aggressive it becomes. If you continue to fight it, you'll only live a life of stress and you may even begin to crack. I suggest you embrace this new side of yourself, and welcome it with open arms. That way, you won't stress out combating this split personality, and the two sides will coexist with one another. Let the two sides fuse together; don't try to suppress one or the other. Instead of being the coin that lands on heads or tails, be the coin that lands on its edge. Understand?"

"I can see where you're getting at," Shinobu answers. "But will that actually work?"

"Sure it will." The woman responds. "I'm very experienced with this case. I had many patients that had the same problem you did."

"Really?" Shinobu says. "Thanks for helping me out, then, Dr…"

"Ikeda," the woman says. "Dr. Ayumi Ikeda."

"Thanks, Dr. Ikeda. That was really quick. So, how much will that cost?"

"For you, my darling," the psychiatrist replies. "Absolutely nothing."

"Ok, you're pulling my leg, now. Seriously, how much is it?"

"Again, nothing." Dr. Ikeda smiles. "I decided to help you out for free. Like I said before, I'm being magnanimous today." She goes straight to Shinobu. "Don't tell anyone, though." She whispers to her ear. "Otherwise, I'll get canned, all right? This isn't even an appointment. I'm lucky they didn't install surveillance cameras here, yet."

"Umm…right." Shinobu walks towards the exit.

"Wait." The psychiatrist cries out. She reaches something in her pocket and pulls out an envelope. She throws it at Shinobu, who catches it.

"What is this?" Shinobu inquires.

"It's an envelope containing a little cash I saved up." The woman replies. "It's enough for you and a few of your friends to have a weekend vacation. You could use one."

"You must be pretty loaded." The bluenette says back.

"This IS a pretty kick-ass job." Dr. Ikeda smiles. "Have a good time, and don't forget to take your boyfriend with you."

Shinobu blushes for a few seconds. "Umm…yeah."

"Bye. Hope to see you soon." Dr. Ikeda waves as Shinobu leaves the office. The psychiatrist then covers her mouth with her right hand and smiles. "Besides," She says to herself. "You'll find out soon enough, Shinobu Maehara." She chuckles delightfully as she, too, exits the office.

(O)

Shinobu walks down the street, with her mind at ease after what the psychiatrist just told her. She stops for a minute, closes her eyes and smiles as her mind is cleared of all thoughts. Suddenly, a strong feeling runs through all of her nerves; her eyes are now wide open. She tries to figure out exactly what that was. "My God. That felt weird." After a couple seconds, she continues walking home.

(O)

Keitaro walks downstairs to the lobby after having to do the laundry by himself. Normally, that wouldn't be the problem, but when he was handling the underwear, Naru thought he was sniffing a bra, and she and Motoko sent him clear to the Mesosphere. He sits on the couch and rests. He can still feel some stinging from their unholy and outrageous beat-the-shit-out-of-the-pervert fest. He sees someone enter the door, and he recognizes the figure quickly. "You're back, Shinobu."

Shinobu observes the band-aid on his head and the bruises on the rest of his body. "I can't believe they attacked you behind my back. You all right?"

"Invulnerability kicks ass, that's for sure." Keitaro replies.

"Well, I'm back from the psychiatrist and got a few words of advice," Shinobu continues. "And needless to say, it feels good."

"Really, I'm glad for you."

Shinobu smiles and nods. "Mmm-hmm. The doctor said I just have to welcome the other part of me with open arms, and have both parts of me coexist with one another; I'm a growing woman."

"That's good to hear, Shinobu." Keitaro replies. "But how much did that cost."

"The therapy was free. And good thing, too, because I didn't bring any money with me."

"Yeah, you're lucky, I guess." Keitaro sweat drops.

As Keitaro gets up, Shinobu gets a bit closer to him. "Can you do me a favor?"

"Umm, sure."

"Can you get the others down her to the meeting room for me? I have an announcement to make. Thanks." She kisses him on the cheek and leaves.

Keitaro stands there motionless and feels the place on his cheek where the kiss was planted. "She kissed me. She really kissed me." His face turns red for a moment. "Shit! I forgot to get the others." And with that, he runs upstairs.

(O)

At the meeting room, everyone sits at their respective spot at the kotatsu, with Shinobu standing in front of them. The blue-haired girl sees that they're all ready and clears her throat.

"Ahem. You all are here because I have an announcement to make." Shinobu says. "I want you all to know that starting tomorrow, we'll be going on a three-day vacation." She hears the rest of the residents talk among each other. Then she clears her throat again to get their attention. "We'll be spending our weekend at Fujisawa City."

"Kick ass!" Kitsune exclaims. "That's what I'm talking about! The Miami Beach of the East!"

Su latches on to the bluenette. "You're the greatest, Shinomu! We get to go on vacation!"

"Where did this come from?" Naru asks.

"The psychiatrist gave me this envelope here." She pulls it out. "The woman's basically loaded, so she put in here enough money to go on a weekend vacation, even for train tickets."

"That's awfully nice of her." Keitaro replies. "Not only was the therapy free, but she set us up for a vacation."

"Isn't that a bit awkward, though?" Naru asks.

"Yeah." The ronin replies. "But how many times does this happen, really?"

"I say we take this opportunity." Shinobu adds. "Who knows, we might have a great time."

"We're going to Fujisawa!" Kitsune exclaims cheerfully as she and Su leave the room.

"Well," Naru says. "They're sure excited about it."

(O)

The next day, the residents stand in front of the train, holding a serious amount of luggage; actually, that's just Keitaro; the girls were just standing in front of the train. They already bought their train tickets.

After they enter the train, they all look for seats. Keitaro already finds an empty row; he sits in the seat next to the window. Naru and Shinobu both approach the seat next to him when they stop and look at one another. They both back off a foot.

"Yeah, right." Naru muses. "Forget it. I'm not sitting next to that dirty-minded, deviant, voyeuristic idiot."

"Okay." Shinobu replies, and she takes the seat next to him. Naru just looks at her funny and leaves the two of them alone. The trip didn't even begin yet, and Su's already pestering a poor balding chubby man in a business suit.

As the train heads to Fujisawa, Motoko attempts to meditate, but couldn't due to Su's pestering. Naru and Kitsune converse with one another, and Shinobu falls asleep, with her head resting on Keitaro's shoulders through the whole trip.

(O)

After the train stops at Fujisawa, the first one to go out is the balding chubby guy, who's pointing back at the train in anger. "THERE'S SOMETHING FRICKIN WRONG WITH THAT FOREIGN KID! GET THAT FREAK AS FAR AS YOU FRICKIN CAN AWAY FROM ME! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" He runs off screaming his head off. Naru and the others get out of the train next.

Naru scolds at Su. "What did I tell you about playing 'Chimpanzee' during the trip?"

"I have to say she really got into it, he-he. Funny as hell it was." Kitsune remarks.

Naru turns to her. "It was your fault for encouraging her!" She turns to Shinobu, who has her arm latched on to Keitaro's. "AND WILL YOU LET GO OF HIM?"

"Not a chance, Tanya Harding!" Shinobu spits back. She turns her attention back to Keitaro, who's looking at her with a bead of sweat on his face.

"What are you doing, exactly?" Keitaro whispers to the girl holding his arm.

"Don't mind me, Sempai." Shinobu whispers back. "Just play along."

"Play along?" Keitaro replies.

(O)

Shinobu chooses quite a hotel for her friends to stay in. The Grand Hotel Shonan has a lavish contemporary theme all around. Keitaro and Naru are naturally unsure about how they'll pay for it all, even with the money given to them from Dr. Ikeda, but Shinobu says that it's all under control and takes care of the rooms they'll stay in. Naru and Kitsune have one room. Su and Motoko have the room next to them, because Su likes to sleep with Motoko, of course, and Shinobu and Keitaro share a room across from them.

After Keitaro and Shinobu unpack, Keitaro heads for the door. "I'm going to take a look around this place. It kicks ass. You want to come?"

"Nah." Shinobu replies. "I'm going to get myself ready for bed."

"All right." Keitaro says, and then he leaves the room. _I can't believe we're sharing a bed. I think Shinobu's taking this a little seriously._

Later, Naru enters the room. "Shinobu?"

"Yeah?" Shinobu replies, now wearing her nightdress.

"We need to talk about something."

"Is it about Sempai?" Shinobu asks.

Naru realizes that she's already caught on. She answers directly. "Yes."

"Sit down, Naru." With that, Naru sits next to Shinobu.

"Are you really in love with Keitaro?" Naru asks, already pretty sure of the answer.

"Of course." Shinobu replies instantly. "Even when before I changed, I always had affections towards Sempai, but ever since I became like this, I felt I could finally show it. (Without having him arrested for pedophilia.)"

"No offense, but you're being delusional." Naru says. "You're well aware that Keitaro's looking for that promise girl, right? You may look like you're nineteen, but you're still only thirteen years old. You weren't even born when that promise was made. Also keep in mind that you're just a teenager mentally, also. You haven't the faintest idea of how tough a relationship truly is."

"This is coming out of your mouth, of course." Shinobu stands up. "You've come up with this because you yourself are indecisive."

"What do you mean by that?" Naru asks.

"You're so wishy-washy, that you weren't able to tell him yourself; you didn't even want to. I, on the other hand, had the courage to tell him right there and then that I love him, and to show affection for him directly, no less. If you truly loved Sempai, you would've confessed to him, long ago, but as it stands, it is far too late. He's mine, now. Sorry if I made you feel like shit, right now, but part of me was begging to say that."

"Don't worry." Naru replies, as she slowly walks towards the door. "I'm smart enough to know exactly when a conflict is about to come." She leaves.

Shinobu sits back on the bed. "I didn't mean to."

To be continued.

Please review.

* * *

See you next chapter. _I Love Sempai!_

That does it for the first part of the Fujisawa Arc. Thanks to those who stuck around to read this chapter. I hope this one didn't disappoint.

Author's Notes:

The Grand Hotel Shonan is a real hotel that resides in Fujisawa City.

This fic is now on the favorites list of ten people, as well as on the alert list for seven. Thanks to you guys, this fic has gotten nineteen reviews, and the amount of hits has more than tripled, jumping from two hundred and seventy one, to eight hundred and nineteen. I like to thank everyone who bothered to visit this story, and I like to give special thanks to **VoidHawk** for sending me his ideas; they'll really come in handy soon.

Until next chapter, Ciao!

-GYRAX of The Dark Icon Writers


	4. I Love Sempai!

Note: I do not own Love Hina, or any other intellectual properties. They are all copyrights of their respectful owners. The rest, however, is MINE, BEE-YOTCHES!

Dayamn! A lot of people came by to review! That means I had a lot of work to do responding.

**that man** – If a fan of Keitaro/Motoko pairings likes this fic, then that tells me I made an achievement. Thanks for the comment.

**Drgnmastr-Alex** – Good luck with college.

**Sorann** – Why, thank you very much! .

**Havenoname **– Naru had her ass handed to her the first round, but this rivalry has just started, my friend.

**Lord Cynic** – Umm…Are you ok?

**Hotstreak RMD** – I know what you mean. But she'll have to shape up if she expects to stand a chance against Shinobu. Any way you put it, the bluenette is already proving to be a tough competitor.

**Great redwyrm** – F0r r34lz0r, d1s 1z t3h sh1zzn173:p Thanks for the comment.

**j6girl** – Thanks.

**Valintine** – All right. All right. Just no more sugar for you. :p

**bluezone777 of the Dark Icon Writers** – I am honored to have this fiction on your "Favorite Stories" list. Thanks so much for the comment.

**Lee3** – Hey! Long time no see. Nice of you to drop on by, and thanks for reviewing. .

**NefCanuck** – Indeed, it will take much more than logic to win. However, almost all of the conflicts/Naru bashings I've encountered were physical, like smacks in the face, or being arrested. I wanted to take more of a dialogue-based approach to it.

**BigFics** – I can't tell you what'll happen to Shinobu, but I will leave you with this: You have not heard the last of that psychotic psychiatrist. In fact, I'm planning on having her actually play a role in this story later on.

**oblivionknight7** – That's what I intend on doing, my friend.

**tomdj1701** – Thanks for the comment, and I'll see to it that all of my chapters are proofread first.

**Zero Dragonknight** – I'm glad this fic put a positive impression on you. Thanks.

**VoidHawk** – I'll do whatever I can to make this story a better one. Thanks so much!

* * *

It is a crisp Saturday morning; the sun's rays pouring through the windows and shining on Keitaro's face. The ronin turns away and opens his eyes slowly. He doesn't feel like getting up as he further takes in the comfort of the soft embrace from the satin sheets. He directs his eyes to the female figure standing in front of him. Keitaro begins to really notice her beauty. 

Shinobu's nightdress gently embraces her body's every curve, her elegant form, with one strap freely hanging off her right shoulder. Her blue hair delicately caresses her back, and her ocean blue eyes pierce his, as she puts a smile on her face. She bends down so her face can more easily meet his. "Good morning Sempai." She speaks with a soft voice.

Keitaro's eyes are the only part of his face she could see as the rest of it blushes. "Umm…G…morn…nobu." His speech is still hindered by the half sleepy state he just snaps out of.

"Hurry up and get dressed, Sempai. We got a whole day ahead of us." Shinobu walks over and picks up her clothes, and then walks to the bathroom.

Keitaro finally sits up and looks at the bathroom door, which is now closed. _Shinobu's taking this quite seriously, but I guess I should just go with it, to make sure that alter ego of hers doesn't get out of control. This is quite a pickle I got in to._

_

* * *

_GYRAX Presents…

_Awe of She_

Chapter 4: _I Love Sempai!_

_

* * *

_  
Naru wakes up; she had a hard time sleeping last night for two reasons. One is that Kitsune has her arms and legs just flopped all over the place, spreading across the bed with one arm on Naru's pillow, making it difficult for her to find a comfortable position. If you have to share a bed with someone, pray to God that it isn't Kitsune. The second reason Naru didn't get much sleep is because of what Shinobu said to her last night. Even now, she's pacing in her mind over it.

You're so wishy-washy, that you weren't able to tell him yourself; you didn't even want to. I, on the other hand, had the courage to tell him right there and then that I love him, and to show affection for him directly, no less. If you truly loved Sempai, you would've confessed to him, long ago, but as it stands, it is far too late. He's mine, now. Sorry if I made you feel like shit, right now, but part of me was begging to say that.

Naru couldn't take it. How could a girl, who more than two and a half weeks ago was so meek and so fragile, suddenly become an adult and tell Naru to fuck off right to her face? Her pride doesn't give her time to introspect on herself, so she just gets off the bed and tries to get it off her mind. Then, something else hits her. _She isn't even the promise girl. I'm pretty sure she came to her senses and figured that out and that this relationship of hers may not work out the way she wants it to._

Just then, the door opens up, and Keitaro pops in. "Are you guys awake?" He looks around to see Naru's already awake, so he goes to Kitsune. "Kitsune? Wake up. It's already 9:00 in the morning."

"Allow me." Naru walks to the sleeping woman, and picks up a megaphone. She screams right into it. "**KITSUNE! WAKE UP, NOW!**" Immediately, she forces herself up.

"Good morning, Naru." Kitsune says, like it didn't even happen.

"Good morning." Naru puts down the megaphone. "Well, it still works. Kitsune, we have a whole day ahead of us so hurry up and get dressed." While Kitsune's walking to the bathroom to get dressed, Naru turns to see Shinobu's arm linked to Keitaro's. _Or maybe she hasn't._ "One thing I want to tell you in advance." She says. "When we get back to Hinata House, and if there's a bunch of large packages sitting in front of the door, they're mine. I ordered an electric guitar with an amplifier so I can wake up Kitsune every morning, just in case the megaphone doesn't work anymore."

Keitaro sweat drops. "I'm sure the megaphone would do just fine."

(O)

Now dressed in casual wear, the group heads outside. Motoko has an expression on her face that suggests that she's upset. Kitsune immediately notices this and walks up to her.

"Hey, Motoko. You look distraught. Why the long face, huh?" Kitsune says.

"It's Shinobu." The swordsman responds.

"I know. She's grown a lot over the past few weeks."

"Not that. I mean I'm worried about her. I think that demon possessing her may have completely taken over. Granted, she and Urashima make a nice couple, but it doesn't seem right."

"Demon?" Kitsune looks at her funny. "I think Shinobu's growing up. I think she's aware of her new body and she's taking advantage of it. Carpe diem as they say. She may have willingly changed. That's my take on it. Where the hell did you come up with that demon theory from?"

"She aged six years in six hours and out of nowhere she started acting possessive towards Urashima. You think she chose to do that?"

"You may have a point there." Kitsune hold her chin. "But I still think that demon theory is a bit farfetched."

"I hope it is." Motoko replies.

(O)

Shinobu directs the others to a gift shop. As they enter, the bluenette quickly directs Keitaro to the clothes. The others go their own ways. Kitsune finds a shirt she likes that says "Kiss Me. I'm Irish (But Not Really)", and Su's wearing a weird looking turtle necklace she found while making "Myuh" sounds.

Motoko examines a katana on sale and shakes her head. "Just for show. The craftsmanship of this sword is god-awful. I can probably break it with my pinky finger. (But I won't tell the clerks that.)"

Shinobu finds a nice t-shirt and brings it to Keitaro. "Sempai. Check this one out. Isn't it cute?"

"I found a better one over here." Keitaro replies. "Come with me." They both head towards another stack of shirts.

Naru finds a pair of capris pants she likes and turns to Keitaro, only to see him talking to Shinobu about this one shirt with a picture of a chicken with boxing gloves on it. She calls to him. "Hey! Keitaro! Look at these pants I found!" She gets no response from him, as he seems to be completely focused on Shinobu. "Hey! Keitaro!" Still nothing. She starts to get irritated. "Keitaro! Over here! I'm talking to you!" Still nothing. Finally, a vein pops up in her forehead. "DON'T IGNORE ME!" She socked Keitaro right across the face, forcing him to bounce wildly on the walls until he lands on a shoe isle.

Shinobu marches towards her. "That was rude! What did you do that for?"

"Excuse me?" Naru retorts. "Keitaro was ignoring me!"

"That's because he was talking to me first!" Shinobu spits back. "Are you so desperate to draw his attention that you would even physically assault him?"

"What?"

"Sempai and I were in the middle of something. You could've just waited until we were done, and then you could talk to him. It's called manners, in case you forgot. You completely lack any patience! For a girl who ranked #1 on the Tokyo U mock exams, you sure as hell don't use your head, do you?"

"What was that?" Another vein pops up in Naru's forehead.

"Don't get me wrong, Naru. I don't want to fight you."

"Your attitude tells me you do!"

"LADIES?" Keitaro suddenly jumps in between them, pushing them further away from each other. "Really, there are people watching. Besides, you two were supposed to get along."

"Sorry, Sempai." Shinobu replies. "Sorry, Naru."

Kitsune approaches Motoko. "You know, I always had this whacko theory that breasts work as a woman's equivalent of a man's package, meaning the bigger they are, the more confident a woman is."

"Umm…What…" Motoko trails off.

"It's not a demon, Motoko. It's just Shinobu's newfound gigantic hooties that are making her more confident. That's all."

"You support this theory?" Motoko asks.

"Well, yeah."

(O)

They all walk out of the gift shop, Keitaro being the unfortunate victim of having to carry everything.

Shinobu turns to the others. "What should I make for lunch?"

"Actually," Naru replies. "You don't have to cook, Shinobu. We can just buy lunch. So what should we get?"

(O)

"Gourd Crepes?" Motoko asks.

"Yep. I guess that means we're cheap." Keitaro replies with a light chuckle.

"We're on a fixed budget, thanks to all those gifts we got." Shinobu adds.

"Great." Naru sighs. "Oh, well."

Shinobu takes off a piece and turns to Keitaro. "Sempai. Say 'Aaaaah'."

"Huh?" Keitaro reacts. Then, he sees the piece of crepe Shinobu's holding and it doesn't take long until he figures out what her intentions were. _I guess I'll eat it. Don't want anything crazy happening here._ He eats it.

"Now, me." Shinobu says. Keitaro takes off a piece and feeds her, but not without a drop of sweat on his head.

"Feed ME, now, Shinomu!" Su exclaims cheerfully.

"Ok." Shinobu replies. She takes a piece and put is in Su's mouth. Then, she turns to Naru. "You want a piece, too?"

"I'll eat my own crepes, thank you!" Naru responds in surprise. "And you should be eating your own, too!"

"I was just having a little fun, Naru." Shinobu responds. "Come on. Don't be so uptight. This is a vacation, so loosen up a bit."

"Some vacation this turned out to be." Naru says. Then, she notices a guy looking at her. She turns to see him smiling, an excited kind of smile like he's about to see a celebrity.

The guy shouts out. "Hey! It's Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman!"

"What?" Naru cries out, and then she remembers that she has a green eye and she freaks. Then, a crowd of fan boys starts chasing her around. Naru screams from the top of her lungs as she's running from the fanatical crowd.

"Poor Naru-sempai." Shinobu says.

(O)

The group gets set up at the Tsujido Seaside Park, after they rescued Naru from the crowd by telling the fan boys that they saw Jane Seymour at the beach. Tsujido Seaside Park is a popular tourist attraction, with a swimming pool and slides, a transportation park, and exhibition facility. The group settles at the swimming pool with their swimsuits on. Shinobu tries on a new bikini she bought a half an hour ago. It's a dazzling sky blue string tied two-piece swimsuit; she fills it out quite nicely.

In the pool, Su's sneaking up on Motoko, who's just looking around. Suddenly, the crazy foreign girl jumps on her, startling her. "HIYA, MOTOKO!" She latches on to her quickly.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! Get off of me!" Motoko cries out. Su jumps off, and the kendoist chases her, but because the water has volume, the chase looks like it's playing out in slow motion.

Keitaro has the next turn on the slide. He sits on it, ready to go, with Shinobu standing behind him. He turns to the bluenette. "Alright, Shinobu. See you at the bottom."

"You know what, Sempai?" Shinobu replies. "I like to slide with you."

"Well, umm…" Keitaro trails off. Just then, Shinobu sits behind him, with her arms around him. Then, she pushes both of them off, and they slid down to the bottom together. However, Keitaro makes a bad move during their slide down and they both crash on to the pool. Naru catches this and runs to see if they're all right. She sees Keitaro's face lodged nicely between Shinobu's melons.

"Keitaro, you slime ball!" She quickly grabs Keitaro and throws him to the stratosphere.

"Will you stop picking on him?" Shinobu shouts.

"It was your fault this all happened!" Naru retorts. "You didn't even consider how Keitaro felt when you kept latching on to him!"

"Ha-ha!" Shinobu laughs bitterly. "That's rich, coming out of the mouth of a moral hypocrite! Didn't you just contradict yourself five seconds ago?"

"That's not the point!" Naru reacts. "The point is that you need to stop clinging on to him and think about what he wants! Anyway, you aren't even the promise girl!"

"Again with the hypocrisy!" Shinobu spits back. "Listen up, Narusegawa!"

Naru was thrown back over what Shinobu just called her.

Shinobu continues. "There isn't a single damn day that I didn't care about him! The fact of the matter is I die a little every time you abuse him, almost crying because I was too weak and helpless to do anything about it! I was always there to help him out when he was down, I was his solace from the madness, and I was the only one who didn't hurt him! So, don't you dare tell me that I don't care, you pompous little bitch! As for the promise girl, AT THIS POINT, SHE MUST HAVE ALREADY FORGOTTEN HIM!"

Suddenly, the entire Tsujido Park is filled with silence as bystanders stare at the two in puzzlement. It's as if they turn around to watch just to take in the drama that Shinobu unfolded. Shinobu's words strike a chord in Naru, making her completely freeze in place, disturbed and frightened over the girl's anger and the words she said, which until this point has never been expressed. It's as if she had something bottled up and now was the time she released it all. On top of that, when she said that last sentence, Naru felt an ice-cold ruthless tone in her voice, like it wasn't even her talking anymore.

But her words also hit a nerve on Keitaro. He now realizes that maybe the promise girl may have forgotten him after all these years; not everyone is committed enough to stick to a goal for fifteen years, though he was able to do so. The reality hits him like a lead brick and he starts to wonder if this journey is all for naught.

To the both of them, it was a verbal equivalent of being punched in the stomach.

Shinobu senses this in both Naru and Keitaro and her expression changes from rage to that which shows pure regret. She quickly figures out that what she has said actually hurt them, perhaps the wound being in as deep as the heart. She looks at Keitaro, and then at Naru. "I'm so sorry. I didn't want to…I mean, I didn't know that I would have really done this to you. I'm really sorry, guys."

"It's all right, Shinobu." Keitaro murmurs. "I just need to go think about this."

Shinobu watches him leave, every step he takes feeling like he's fading away bit by bit. "Sempai! Wait!" She rushes in effort to follow him. Naru sees them leave without saying a word.

Kitsune approaches her. "Naru. She didn't mean it. Don't be so hung up about it."

Su and Motoko are left absolutely speechless.

The bystanders continue to watch, absorbing the drama like they're in the middle of a big soap opera that's playing out before them.

(O)

Keitaro sits in an empty area of the Shonan beach, with a distressed Shinobu sitting beside him. She looks at him, looking for the words to say that she hope could make all of this just disappear.

She shifts her body, getting closer to him. "Sempai. Do you think I'm terrible?"

Keitaro turns his head towards her. "No, I don't. I was just startled; I didn't realize you took this seriously. I thought it was just a game to satisfy that alter ego, but I realized it's more than that. But it's ok, Shinobu. Really."

"No, it's not." She replies. "I hurt you, Sempai, and I acted like a total bitch just to beat Naru-sempai. I wanted you so much, that I had absolutely no regard for your feelings, just like she said. I'm selfish, Sempai. I'm selfish. Not to mention I made Naru-sempai feel like complete crap."

"You thought it over." Keitaro responds. "You realized that you did something wrong, you acknowledged the fact that it was wrong and you atoned for it by apology. You're not selfish."

"But Sempai. The promise girl…"

"I thought it over. I realized there and then that maybe she did forget about me. Sure, it struck a nerve, but I guess I should accept it now that it has crossed my mind. Perhaps I should just move on, live a life of my own. But that means I won't completely put the promise girl aside, just in case we meet again." He stands up.

"But I don't get it." Shinobu says in perplexity. "How could you just calmly tell me that after I said something that might have put you into a serious depression? I don't understand."

"Maybe I'm supposed to depressed." Keitaro answers. "But I'm not. I must be stronger than I thought I was. We should get back to the park. Naru and the others are probably waiting for us." He leaves.

Shinobu stands there, watching him walk away. _You are, Sempai. You truly are._

To be continued.

Please review and tell me what you think.

My God! That sounded like a corny-ass soap opera! WHAT HAVE I DONE? WAAAAAAAAAAAAH! (Runs off screaming.)

* * *

See you next chapter. 

_Φανταστική Διάτρηση Αέρα!_

That does it for the second part of the Fujisawa Arc. Thanks to those who stuck around to read this chapter. I hope this one didn't disappoint. The Greek title means only one thing; Shinobu's going to master her new power in the next chapter! Ha-ha!

Author's Notes:

The Tsujido Park is an actual Park in Fujisawa City.

Crepe stands are common in Japan. When Crepes are ordered, they're folded up and put into cardboard cones, looking a lot like ice cream cones. The inside of a crepe can be stuffed with many kinds of treats, form ice cream, to fruit, or anything else sweet. Yes, I got this from the fourth volume of _Negima_, so don't bug me about that.

This fic is now on the favorites list of seventeen people people, as well as on the alert list for eight. Thanks to you guys, this fic has doubled from nineteen reviews to thirty-eight, and the amount of hits jumped to twelve hundred and ninety one. I like to thank everyone who bothered to visit this story. I consider you all co-authors, as your comments helped shape this fic to what it is, now. I may sound a bit corny again, but thanks you all for reading. Thank you so much!

Until next chapter, Ciao!

-GYRAX of The Dark Icon Writers


	5. Phantastike Diatrese Aera!

Note: I do not own Love Hina, or any other intellectual properties. They are all copyrights of their respectful owners. The rest, however, is MINE, BEE-YOTCHES!

(This chapter has been revised a bit, so the pacing would slow down a little, like it really needed to.)

Thanks to everyone for reading and to those who dropped by to review. I'm already at fifty-five reviews and eighteen hundred and twenty-five hits. It's on the favorite list for eighteen people and on the alert list for eleven. Thank you all for stopping by. I consider you all co-authors, as your comments helped shape this fic to what it is, now.

**that man** – Really? Thanks. That's just the ending I was talking about, but thanks.

**j6girl** - …

**pyrotechnic** – Why, thank you.

**Miamaru the Shadowslayer** – You have a good point there; I thought that one over. Well, sometimes I plan it, and other times it just comes to me. It's a little of both.

**Lee3** – Thanks, dude. I appreciate the comment.

**BigFics2** – I'll be sure to drop by and read it, my friend.

**Dimitri Plabato of the Dark Icon Writers** – Wow! Thanks!

**de bombz** – Oh my.

**Neverwinter** – Stay tuned and find out! Same Bat Time, Same Bat Channel!

**Havenoname** – Well, let's wait and see.

**tomdj1701** – Thanks for the comment.

**NefCanuck** – That's moral, dialog-based bashing at work.

**Hotstreak RMD** – Kitsune's theory was something that was stuck in my head; I was originally going to put that joke in an original story. I think I still can. As for Naru, she isn't going to be the only one to be at the receiving end, but she'll be going through the lot of it, though.

**Drgnmastr-Alex** – Thanks, and good luck to you, also. I didn't say this when I reviewed your fic, but I believe the name of that new System of a Down CD is _Mezmerize_. Just wanted to help out.

**Sorann** – It's going to be Shinobu/Keitaro, but I want Keitaro and the others to develop a bit first, before the pairing really shows itself. I'm making this story run at a good pace for the sake of keeping things a bit in character, though the new Shinobu has grown a lot.

**oblivionknight7** – She'll have to at this point in time.

**bluezone777 of the Dark Icon Writers** – Damn! Why didn't I think of that? Oh, well. Thanks so much for the comment.

**VoidHawk** – Don't worry, my friend. This chapter's going to be all about the magic! So, now you're going to see even MORE of that _Negima_ spice I told you about.

* * *

GYRAX Presents… 

_Awe of She_

Chapter 5: _Φανταστική Διάτρηση Αέρα!_

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* * *

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It's Sunday morning, and the sun is only a glimmer of a light that is peeking over the Earth. Shinobu gets up and off of the bed and stretches, her arms high in the sir as her body goes stiff from the stretching. She puts her arms down and looks at Keitaro's sleeping body, limp and delicate under the satin sheets. She starts to feel slight tingles all over her body. After a brief pause, she walks over to his side of the bed and puts her hand on his shoulder. She gently rocks him. "Sempai. Wake up." She whispers, but no response. She rocks him a bit harder. "Wake up, Sempai." She says, a little louder this time.

Keitaro shifts his body around and pulls the covers further over him. Shinobu then turns him over on his back. "Sempai. Please wake up."

His eyes open and turn towards her. "Good…morn…nobu…" He says, his speech a little off due to his currently half-asleep state.

"Good morning Sempai." Shinobu answers, her soft voice toying with a few nerves in Keitaro's spine. He blushes. Then, he looks at the clock and sees that it's 5:45 AM. He looks back at the girl beside him. "It's pretty early in the morning, Shinobu." He murmurs. "What do you want?"

"Sempai." Shinobu says. "We need to talk."

"Okay." Keitaro replies. He then gathers up his energy and sits up.

"Can we do it outside, though?" Shinobu says.

"Why?"

"I guess it's because I just want some fresh air. I'm going to get dressed, first, ok?" She picks up an outfit and goes to the bathroom.

Keitaro gets out of bed. He looks at nothing as he wonders what Shinobu's intending.

(O)

Naru wakes up; she had a hard time sleeping last night for two reasons. One is that Kitsune has her arms and legs just flopped all over the place, spreading across the bed with one arm on Naru's pillow, making it difficult for her to find a comfortable position. If you have to share a bed with someone, pray to God that it isn't Kitsune. The second reason Naru didn't get much sleep is because of what Shinobu said to her yesterday. Even now, she's pacing in her mind over it. Shinobu did apologize, or at least that's what it sounded like, but Naru couldn't get over the fact that quite possibly, she may be right, not only about the promise girl, but about Naru herself.

If she knows that, then she would let it go, but there's one exception, and it's always there in Naru's psyche, and that's her pride. Her logic tells her to let it go and admit that Shinobu's right, but her pride whispers in her ear and tells her otherwise. Naru is now in the middle of another tug of war between her logic and her pride, and it seems like her pride may have another victory under its belt. Such is the case with Narusegawa Naru, with most women, with some people in general.

She gets out of bed and walks to the room across, if effort to talk this out with Shinobu. When she gets in the guest suite, she finds no one there. She looks around the place, in hopes of maybe finding them in the kitchen, or something of the sort, but to no avail. She goes back to her room.

She sees Kitsune sleeping and picks the megaphone off the floor. She screams into it. "**KITSUNE! WAKE UP, NOW!**"

Kitsune forces herself up, and accidentally smacks Naru across the face. She looks over. "Oh, my God! Naru, are you all right?"

"Yeah." Naru answers. "I think I'm getting pretty used to the whole bashing thing." She pauses for a moment. "Oh, I almost forgot. Keitaro and Shinobu are gone. I looked in their room, already."

"Where do you think they went?" Kitsune asks.

"I don't know!" Naru replies. "We need to look for them!"

(O)

Motoko sits on the floor with her eyes closed, thinking. _What was up with Shinobu, yesterday? I can hardly believe that she actually went all out and screamed at Naru-sempai like that. Come to think of it, she's been a lot tougher over the past few weeks, and she and Naru-sempai seemed to be constantly fighting because of Urashima. Urashima didn't even do a damn thing about it. Something just hit me, now: Urashima is the problem; he should be a man and intervene, so this whole thing can just stop. I'll have to talk to him._

Then, she hears the door to her room open, which disturbs her train of thought. Kitsune comes in.

"Motoko. Get Su up. Shinobu and Keitaro are gone, and we have to go look for them." Kitsune says.

"They're gone?" Motoko replies. Then, she walks over to Su and pokes her with her bokken. It does a good job of waking her.

Su jumps up. "Good morning Motoko!" She exclaims cheerfully.

"All right." Kitsune says. "Now that everyone's awake, we need to look for them." Kitsune leaves, with Motoko and Su following her.

(O)

They both stand at the Shonan Beach; Shinobu's hand is tightly clasped on to Keitaro's. To her, the warmth of their hands holding one another is enough to overcome the morning chill.

Keitaro turns to her. "So what is it that you want to talk about?"

"It's about yesterday." Shinobu answers.

"I thought we were already through that." Keitaro replies.

"That's like you, Sempai." Shinobu says. "You're a guy, so it's ok; guys don't have that 'memory' problem. See, after two guys get into conflict, they get over it like it never happened. Not the case with women. After two girls fight, that conflict gets etched into their memories. Something that negative leaves a lasting impression, especially on someone as fair as a woman. We don't forget, and we don't get over it that easily."

"But you apologized for it." Keitaro replies. "You said you were sorry back at the park."

"I don't think that apology has gotten to Naru's head." Shinobu says in response. "She has a strong sense of pride and what I said might have made a dent on her ego."

"I see where you're getting at." Keitaro replies. "But give her some time, and she'll come around. I could even talk to her about this, but I don't know how well that would work."

"You'll help me out with this?" Shinobu inquires.

"Sure." Keitaro answers. "After all, we can't just leave Naru in the dust."

"Thank you, Sempai." Shinobu says. "Thank you so much for helping me get that weight off my shoulders." She lets go of his hand and walks closer to the dancing waves. She looks at the sky, which is a beautiful dark blue, and perfectly clear except for a single cloud, pink from the light coming out of the now rising sun. Her mind is now in a state of bliss. She feels like she's floating in mid-air. She opens her eyes to see that she IS floating in mid-air. She panics and immediately falls back down to Earth.

Keitaro rushes to her. "Shinobu! Are you all right?"

"Yeah." Shinobu answers.

Keitaro helps her up. "How did you do that? You practically levitated."

"I levitated?" Shinobu repeats. She holds her chin and thinks it over for a few seconds. "Well, I looked up into the sky. My mind was at ease, and I thought of flying. And then, I actually lifted off of the ground. Wait. That's it!"

"What is it?" Keitaro inquires.

"I think I know how to control my powers." Shinobu replies. "I just have to clear my mind and focus. Let me try it again." She closes her eyes. Again, she floats off the ground. She opens her eyes and looks down at Keitaro. "Sempai! Look!"

"I see it!" Keitaro replies. "That's awesome, Shinobu!"

"It really is!" She says. "We need to go back to the hotel and show the others. They'll flip out!"

"Well," Keitaro says. "Let's go back to the hotel."

"Ok." Shinobu lands back on Earth.

Before they head for the hotel, they hear voices calling out for them. They turn around to see the others coming right for them.

"Keitaro!" Naru cries out as they approach him.

"Oh, hey Naru." Keitaro responds.

"We've been looking all over for you, where have you been?" Naru says.

"Shinobu and I were right here at the beach the whole time." Keitaro answers. He turns to Shinobu. "Hey, Shinobu. Do that floating act."

"Right now?" Shinobu says. "Ok." She lifts off and hovers into the air again, and needless to say, the others' are quite astonished; this isn't something they see every day.

"My God." Kitsune says. "That kicks ass!"

"How the hell did you do that?" Naru asks.

Shinobu turns to her. "It's easy. I put my mind into a state of ecstasy, and then I focus. It's really a great thing, and it feels good too, Naru-chan. Ha-ha!" She laughs heartily as she pats Naru's head.

"Naru-chan?" Naru asks, pushing her hand away. "I'm not a child!"

Shinobu lands back on Earth. "Well, you sure act like one. I'm just teasing with you. Anyway, it's good to see you back in your normal, irritable self. Welcome back, Naru-sempai."

A small vein pops up in Naru's forehead.

"I'm just saying I'm glad to see you're back to normal." She smiles at her. Naru slowly smiles back, finally seeing what Shinobu's intent is.

Keitaro walks up to Naru. "Let's go, Naru." They all head back to the hotel.

(O)

The doors to the hotel open, and the group walks through to the lobby.

"I'm just going to hang out here if you don't mind." Kitsune says.

"Well, ok." Naru replies. With that, everyone else leaves.

Kitsune flops on one of the lobby's couches and looks up at the ceiling. Thoughts run around her head like a cockroach infestation. _Shinobu can fly? That's kick-ass! I wonder how I could exploit that. I didn't know Dick Cheney had a big white pepperoni stick between his legs._

"I heard that." A voice says. Kitsune looks around to see Shinobu sitting right next to her.

"What are you talking about?" Kitsune asks.

"You were thinking on exploiting my ability to fly, and the US vice president has a big white pepperoni stick."

"Nuh-uh!" Kitsune reacts. "But how did you know?"

"I think I may also be telepathic." Shinobu answers.

"So, you can get into people's minds?" The fox inquires. "Cool! I have an idea!" After hearing that, a bead of sweat runs down Shinobu's head.

(O)

The phone rings in Naru's room. Naru goes to answer it; she picks it up and holds it to her ear. "Hello?"

"Hey, Naru." An ugly voice says from the other line.

"Who the hell is this?" Naru says.

"None of your beeswax." The voice answers. "And stop drumming your fingers on the nightstand; it's getting obnoxious."

Naru stops drumming, and that's when it hit her; whoever it is knew exactly what she was doing, even though the door to her room is shut. She freaks. "Where the hell are you?"

"I am everywhere," The voice answers. "And nowhere." Naru sweat drops. She pulls out a Chap Stick and holds it.

"All right then," She says. "If you're so damn omnipotent, then what am I holding?"

"Chap Stick." The voice answers.

Naru freaks. "No, I'm not! I'm holding a #2 pencil! Ha-ha!"

"Don't lie to me!" The voice retorts. "I know you're holding a Chap Stick. Don't be delusional. Now, I'm going to kick the door open!"

Suddenly, the door flies open and Naru screams her head off. "AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"

Just then, Shinobu walks in, holding her gut and laughing her ass off. "BWA HAHAHA! Naru-sempai! That was great! BWA HAHAHAHAHA! I can't take it! Naru-sempai, you should've seen the look on your face! BWA HA! It was absolutely priceless! BWA AHAHAHA!"

A vein pops up in Naru's forehead. "All right, Shinobu! What the hell is this about?"

"Well, Naru-sempai," Shinobu says, trying to suppress her laughter. "It turns out I'm telepathic. I can go into people's minds."

"Well," Naru retorts. "You could've had a better use for it than scaring the hell out of me!" Naru walks towards her, but crashes into a barrier. She shakes it off and looks back at Shinobu. "What the hell?"

"A barrier." Shinobu says. "I guess I have to just think about protecting myself and I can make one."

"Shinobu!" Naru cries out, holding her nose.

"I'm sorry, Naru sempai!" Shinobu says. She looks around and sees Kitsune. "Besides, this was all Kitsune's idea!"

"Wait a second!" Kitsune reacts. "As I recall, you wanted to do it!"

"No I didn't!" Shinobu replies. "It was your idea, and you MADE me do it!"

"You're just crazy!" Kitsune retorts.

"She's right." Keitaro interjects. "It was your idea."

"Well," Kitsune says. "You're all crazy! You're all mental patients who escaped the asylum because you were supposed to have electroshock therapy, and you didn't want to, so you got out…"

"Cut it out." Keitaro says. "We all know you're guilty as hell." Kitsune storms out.

"One thing." Naru says. "Make sure you tell Su and Motoko that we're packing; we're going to leave around noon-ish."

"What?" Kitsune says. "Why can't we stay a bit longer?"

"Fixed budget." Shinobu answers.

"I wanna stay!" Kitsune complains. "We can still hang around the beach, and have sake parties, and…"

"We're packing, now." Shinobu demands.

"But the summer festival…"

"WE'RE PACKING!" Shinobu screams, with her arms in the air. Everyone looks at her funny. Shinobu notices quickly and laughs nervously.

(O)

The Hinata crew puts their luggage in the train and they find their seats, except for Su, who's creating quite a ruckus.

Keitaro takes a seat next to Naru, who' sitting at the window seat. This makes Shinobu a bit irritated. Keitaro looks around and sees Motoko looking at him with an accusing stare. He looks at Naru.

"Why is Motoko looking at me like that?" Keitaro asks.

"Well, think about it." Naru replies. "You're a man. Remember all men are vile, nasty perverts?"

A vein pops up in Shinobu's head. "Why don't you type that up in a forum, where people actually listen to you? You know that's why God made the Internet, so people can slander one another anonymously. Just leave Sempai out of this."

"All right." Naru sighs. "I'll leave him alone, if you insist."

"And that goes for you too, Motoko." Shinobu says. Motoko looks at her, now.

Keitaro thinks to himself. _This vacation has gotten us nowhere. It was meant to put Shinobu back at ease, but instead, it made her more uptight about having me. Still, it's not often someone tells Naru off like that. Ever since Shinobu changed, she and Naru were always fighting one another. I understand the fact the Shinobu wants to protect me, but she seems to approach it from the wrong angle. I just wish I could find a way to resolve this conflict without getting anyone hurt, especially myself. It's not like I don't want her to take my side, but I think she's being too aggressive about it. The fact of the matter is Shinobu seems to be acting just like Naru in a way. Like they say, two of the same personalities don't coexist well._

Naru looks out the window, thinking about Shinobu's new behavior as well. In a way, she reminds her of herself, and it's hitting her like a metal baseball bat. "Am I really like that?" She wonders, as she takes in the sights just outside the window.

(O)

After the train stops at Hinata, the first one to go out is the same balding chubby guy from the last trip, who's pointing back at the train in anger. "WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT THAT KID? I SAID TO GET THAT FREAK AS FAR AS YOU FRICKIN CAN AWAY FROM ME! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!" He runs off screaming his head off. Naru and the others get out of the train next.

Naru scolds at Su. "What did I tell you about playing 'Chimpanzee' during the trip?"

"I have to say she really got into it, he-he. Funny as hell it was." Kitsune remarks.

Naru turns to her. "It was your fault for encouraging her!"

Keitaro speaks. "Let's just put this behind us and go back home."

(O)

Not long after everything's unpacked at the Hinata House, the chaos already begins. Su launches a salvo of missiles at Keitaro, with Naru and Motoko chasing her down. Kitsune laughs her ass off, until a missile blows her up. Then, the fox also chases her down and they all tackle her. That's when all hell breaks loose. Keitaro manages to escape the madness and runs to Shinobu.

Shinobu figures that she's had enough already and she screams. "EVERYONE FREEZE!" Suddenly, the girls turn into giant icicles.

"HOLY CRAP! WHAT DID YOU DO, SHINOBU?" Keitaro freaks.

"Auuuuuuuuuuuu!" Shinobu cries out. Then, she breathes fire to melt the ice covering them. She turns back to Keitaro. "They're all right now, Sempai…"

"THEIR HAIR'S ON FIRE!" Keitaro screams.

Shinobu turns back and sees that indeed, their hair is on fire. "Auuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu! WIND!" She creates a cyclone to put out the fires on their heads, but the cyclone also picks them up and swings them around like a hammer throw. Shinobu freaks again. "Auuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!" She stops the wind, and all of the girls fall back on Earth. "I wasn't aware that I could do that, also! Aaaauuuuuu! I'm sorry!"

Keitaro rushes to them. "Are you all right, girls?" Then, he slips and accidentally falls on Naru's chest.

"PERVERT!" Naru gears up for a punch. Shinobu quickly reacts and rushes in to block her attack; a small shockwave encircles them from the impact of the attack. They both jump back a couple feet.

Naru grows frustrated. "You're still defending that pervert?"

"Didn't you remember a damn thing I told you yesterday?" Shinobu spits back. "Or does your infantile mind still doesn't get it?"

"Infantile?" Naru snaps.

"Your problem is that you have a terrible judgment of character, and you accuse and attack without any provocation!" Shinobu yells. "Your brain obviously hasn't grown enough to figure out that maybe he could've done it by accident!"

"You know," Naru replies angrily. "I'm not going to take any more of this bull crap from you!"

"I'm just trying to make a point!" Shinobu responds. "But obviously, your pride won't let you take it in when you need to; it doesn't want you to accept the facts when they don't sway in your direction! Why don't you throw your ego aside and listen for once?"

Keitaro watches this unfold, but from out of nowhere, he has a sword at his throat. He shifts his eyes and sees Motoko, with resentment in her eyes. "What is it, Motoko?"

"You need to be a man and stop this now, Urashima!" Motoko replies. "You're just watching an looking helpless; you're acting spineless again. I can't take it!"

Shinobu's shoulders twitch and turns to Motoko, now. "If you have a problem with Sempai, then take it out on me. I was going to challenge you to a duel anyway."

"What?" That is all Motoko could come up with.

"We're going outside." Why would Shinobu challenge a master kendoist, even though she has only been familiar with her newfound abilities for a few hours? At this point, only God knows.

(O)

In front of the building, Motoko and Shinobu stand a good distance away from one another. Motoko could only look at Shinobu with bewilderment.

"Why would you want to challenge me?" Motoko inquires. "Do you even know the chances you have of winning?"

"I originally just wanted to spar with you to hone in on my newfound powers." Shinobu answers. "To see how well these powers would work in combat. I was thinking it over during our trip back from Fujisawa, and I assumed that they would serve me well in a fight, seeing as how I was able to beat Naru-sempai. Now, I want to try them on one who is actually a skilled fighter, i.e. you, Motoko."

"I hope you know what you're doing," Motoko replies. "Because I don't. Anyways, are you ready?"

"I am when you are." Shinobu replies. She herself is now feeling a bit unsure as to why she would put herself in such a scenario.

"Right." Motoko says on the outside. On the inside, she says. _Finally, I have a chance to put this demon back in its place. I've been waiting for this chance. I might as well seize the moment._ "Let me just put my sword away. I wish to fight fair, so I'll use my fists." She throws her sword aside and positions herself into a fighting stance.

"Your move, Motoko." Shinobu says, with confidence hidden in her voice.

"As you wish." Motoko complies. "ESSENCE OF THE SHINMEI SCHOOL CONCEALED EVIL CUTTING FIST, SECOND FORM!" She sends a massive ki attack, which shoots towards Shinobu at breakneck speeds.

Shinobu quickly reacts. "BARRIER!" She creates a hemispherical shield that easily deflects the attack. Keitaro and the others gasp as they watch in shock and awe, but Motoko doesn't bother to speak, but she too is still amazed as to what Shinobu was able to do. Out of the blue, Shinobu vanishes out of thin air.

Motoko thinks her mind is playing tricks on her. "Where on Earth did she go?" Her answer comes to her quickly. She feels a presence behind her, but by the time she turns around, Shinobu already has her right palm open, and in front of abdomen. Motoko sees her eyes, and notices that there's no glare or shine in them. Just then, Shinobu cries out at the top of her lungs…

"**ΦΑΝΤΑΣΤΙΚΗ ΠΥΓΜΗ ΑΕΡΑ**!" A burst of wind comes out of nowhere and hits her stomach, launching her clear across the front yard, and on a collision course with a tree. Motoko gets up and holds her abdomen.

Shinobu snaps out of it and rushes to her side, the others following her. "Are you all right?"

"Sort of." Motoko responds.

"Aaaaauuuuu! What was I thinking? I didn't know I would hurt you like this!" Shinobu flails her arms wildly.

"It's all right, I just feel like I was punched in the gut." Motoko reassures her. "How did you do that, by the way? And where did you learn to speak that gaijin language?"

Shinobu looks at her. "Beats me." Motoko sweat drops as a reaction.

Little do they know, someone is watching all of this behind the trees, a woman with brown hair in a ponytail, and glasses over a pair of green eyes, and she getting a kick out of what she just watched. This woman… is Dr. Ayumi Ikeda!

To be continued.

Please review and tell me what you think.

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Coming up next chapter… _Awe of He_

Keitaro agrees to go out on a date with Shinobu, but on one condition: she must refrain from fighting Naru. This means Shinobu has to go through extraordinary measures to stop any future perverted events and monster-scale assaults, as well as keep this proposal of theirs a secret.

Author's Notes:

That is the end of the Fujisawa Arc. Thanks to those who stuck around to read this chapter. I hope this one didn't disappoint.

I figured Shinobu would excel in wind magic, like Negi, though she would also specialize in other magic, like fire and ice, and that sort of thing. And with her new powers, she proved the fact that she could be quite a strong fighter as well. Her attack at the end of the chapter is "ΦΑΝΤΑΣΤΙΚΗ ΠΥΓΜΗ ΑΕΡΑ". That says "PHANTASTIKE PUGME AERA", which means "IMAGINARY WIND FIST". The title says "Phantastike Diatrese Aera", which means "Imaginary Wind Punch", which was originally what I was going to name the attack until I changed my mind at the last minute. I had to go through a lot of crap to convert the Greek letters to English ones. As for the Greek phrases themselves, I used a WorldLingo machine translator to translate English to Greek, so it may not be completely accurate.

As a treat to those who read this fic, I bring you its first omake!

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GYRAX Presents… 

_Awe of She-Hulk: The Omake!_

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"What's going on here?" Keitaro asks. 

Shinobu and Su turn to him while standing next to Shinobu's room.

"Remember when Su kept telling everyone that she always wanted to be like the Hulk?" Shinobu says.

"Yeah." Keitaro replies.

"Well, watch a girls fantasy come true!" Shinobu exclaims, now turning towards Su. "Check this out. Wind Flower! Wind Flower! TURN THIS GIRL INTO A DAMN SHE-HULK!" With one breeze, Su suddenly becomes green and muscular.

Su takes notice immediately. "Aww! Cool! I am The She-Hulk! I shall crush evil! Bad guys everywhere PH34R M3! SU-HULK SMASH…" Suddenly, Su falls through the second floor, due to her own massive weight. She lands on the first floor.

Keitaro runs to check on Su. "You all right down there?"

"I'm fine, sort of." Su answers, back to normal, except for the fact that she's shirtless.

Keitaro panics. "CRAP!"

Shinobu tackles him. "Don't look at her, Sempai!" She now lies on top of him.

"I think Su was too heavy." Keitaro says.

Shinobu replies. "I think the floor needs to be more sturdy."

That's it for the first omake.

Until next chapter, Ciao!

-GYRAX of The Dark Icon Writers


	6. Awe of He

Note: I do not own Love Hina, or any other intellectual properties. They are all copyrights of their respectful owners. The rest, however, is MINE, BEE-YOTCHES!

After you finish reading this chapter, and if you haven't done so yet, please read and review my latest fic, _Tokyo Myuh Myuh_. I'd appreciate it.

**Sorann** – Thanks.

**pyrotechnic** – I'm glad you think that. Do you want me to tell you decode the Greek Letters and convert them to English, or translate? I don't know Greek, but I make up an English phrase that sounds like a good attack name, and then I translate that phrase in the WorldLingo translator, which might not be completely accurate, I'm not sure. Then, I look up the Greek Alphabet and match the Greek letters on my translated phrase with the letters in the Greek alphabet to discover which letter means what, like **Φ** means Phi, which is the letters **Ph** from the English alphabet, or something like that. E-mail me if you want any more info, and I'll tell you the address for the WorldLingo translator and I'll e-mail you a copy of the Greek alphabet. I hope that helps.

**Havenoname** – I never thought of Keitaro having powers.

**Hotstreak RMD** – Thanks for the comment by the way. I knew Motoko was able to fight without her sword since I read Volume 12 of the manga.

**VoidHawk** – Thanks for that. I'm still keeping your idea into consideration. The fact of the matter is I'm using it right now, but only bit by bit, for the sake of the story's pacing. At this point, the other girls will have to grow up, especially that blondie booger T-rex lizard Naru-thing.

**bluezone777 of the Dark Icon Writers** – I'm glad you liked the omake as well as this chapter.

**Lee3** – That may or may not be true. Ayumi is quite a mysterious character. I appreciate you dropping by.

**BigFics2** – I understand where you're getting at, and I'll come around and fix that problem when I come around to it. As for Shinobu's power, I'll pretty much stick with VoidHawk on this matter. Don't worry, it'll get clearer in the next chapter.

**that man** – I got the idea from the fic's title, which is Awe of She. It just came to me.

**NefCanuck** – He wasn't doing a damn thing about it earlier, and I thought maybe he could finally find a way to intervene. 

**tomdj1701** – Thanks for the comment.

**Drgnmastr-Alex** – Thanks for the heads up on that. And Happy Birthday; I made sure to update this chapter on your birthday as a gift from me to you.

**oblivionknight7** – I can't tell you much, but know that Dr. Ikeda will play a role in this story soon.

* * *

GYRAX Presents… 

_Awe of She_

Chapter 6: _Awe of He_

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_  
**CRASH!** And just like that, Naru flies through the roof of the Hinata House and into the exosphere…AGAIN.

Shinobu walks away from the lobby in a huff. "Dammit! This is getting old!"

Keitaro witnesses all of this and sighs. "How many holes in the roof was that, today?"

"Forty-nine." Kitsune answers. "Twenty-four were holes I was forced to repair because of you were too busy during your trip around the world."

"Damn." Keitaro groans. "It just never ends, does it?" He walks out of the lobby to get some wood, nails, and a hammer; he's off to repair another hole. In his mind, he couldn't help but think about what Motoko said yesterday.

_You need to be a man and stop this now, Urashima! You're just watching and looking helpless; you're acting spineless again. I can't take it_

So, it's about time that Keitaro decides to take some action, but he'll need to gather a bit of courage to do so. Already, he feels nervous, his skin tingling all over.

(O)

Brooding in her room is Motoko Aoyama, trying to figure out what happened yesterday. Never in her life has she been up against anyone that would come close to an actual magic-user.

"_ESSENCE OF THE SHINMEI SCHOOL CONCEALED EVIL CUTTING FIST, SECOND FORM!" She sends a massive ki attack, which shoots towards Shinobu at breakneck speeds._

_Shinobu quickly reacts. "BARRIER!" She creates a hemispherical shield that easily deflects the attack. Keitaro and the others gasp as they watch in shock and awe, but Motoko doesn't bother to speak, but she too is still amazed as to what Shinobu was able to do. Out of the blue, Shinobu vanishes out of thin air._

_Motoko thinks her mind is playing tricks on her. "Where on Earth did she go?" Her answer comes to her quickly. She feels a presence behind her, but by the time she turns around, Shinobu already has her right palm open, and in front of abdomen. Motoko sees her eyes, and notices that there's no glare or shine in them. Just then, Shinobu cries out at the top of her lungs…_

"_**ΦΑΝΤΑΣΤΙΚΗ ΠΥΓΜΗ ΑΕΡΑ**!" A burst of wind comes out of nowhere and hits her stomach, launching her clear across the front yard, and on a collision course with a tree. Motoko gets up and holds her abdomen._

She has heard about how the Shinmei School has had close associations with Magi, magic-users that still walk about, even during more rational times like this. She just never thought she would actually meet one, let alone fight one, and get defeated by one. Even more surprising is the fact that Shinobu could be a Magi. It hits her now: Shinobu's may not be possessed at all. The fact that Shinobu's a magic-user brings clarity to her mind.

(O)

"Shinobu?" Keitaro says. "Can you come upstairs?"

"Sure, Sempai." Shinobu responds. She leaves the kitchen, walks upstairs and follows Keitaro to his room. When Shinobu closes the doors, Keitaro looks back at her with concern in his eyes.

"Shinobu?" Keitaro says. "We need to talk."

"I'm here, Sempai." Shinobu replies.

"I'm concerned about you." Keitaro says. "Ever since that trip to Fujisawa, all you've been doing was fighting Naru. I understand that you're trying to defend me and all that, but you're doing it all wrong. If anything, you're not really acting any better than Naru."

"But I think the only way to make her see the wrongs that she's doing is to give her a taste of her own medicine." Shinobu responds.

"It doesn't always work that way." Keitaro says. "Sometimes you need to be patient and let things settle themselves. It'll take time, but Naru will come to her senses soon."

"I just don't see that in her anymore, Sempai." Shinobu replies. "I think that her head could be too thick to get it all in, so I feel that I have to thin it out a bit."

"This isn't getting anywhere." Keitaro sighs. "Look; I have a better idea. I understand that you have affections towards me, so I thought of this. Don't tell the others about it, but under the conditions that you refrain from engaging in any kind of conflict with Naru, I'll take you out on a date tonight. You know, the summer festival starts tonight."

"Really?" Shinobu's eyes light up, shining in pure glee. The depths of her heart quickly grow warmer and warmer with every second, and nerves fill her senses.

"Sure, but only as long as you don't get in a fight with Naru. And don't tell anyone, either, ok?"

"I'll try my best, Sempai." Shinobu says. A challenge for Shinobu, indeed. Now that she accepts this challenge, she'll have to solve this problem of hers with her brains rather than her fist. This may prove to quite difficult, considering her newfound habit.

"All right." Keitaro says, as he stands up and heads for the door. "I'm going to clean the hot springs." He leaves his room.

Shinobu stands and watches him disappear behind the wall. She thinks to herself. _I can't help but defend you, Sempai. If you want me to stop fighting Naru, then I'll have to make sure nothing that could be perceived as perverted will happen. _Just then, something hits Shinobu's head like a tennis ball. _Auuuuuuu! Naru's already taking a bath, but Sempai doesn't know that. I have to stop him, but how? Wait! I got it!_ And with that, Shinobu disappears.

(O)

Keitaro approaches the door to the hot springs with a plethora of cleaning tools. Suddenly, he sees the door barricaded with what looked like police tape. He noticed something weird written on it, so he examines it a bit closer. It reads…

**LADIES ARE TAKING A BATH! KEEP OUT! LADIES ARE TAKING A BATH! KEEP OUT! LADIES ARE TAKING A BATH! KEEP OUT! LADIES ARE TAKING A BATH! KEEP OUT!**

"Damn!" Keitaro said. "I get the point. I guess I'll come back later." He leaves, carrying the cleaning supplies with him, the weight bearing down on him, and it shows.

Back at the lobby, Shinobu's catching her breath, with a roll of police tape, a hammer, and nails. _Thank God I was able to make it, or Sempai would've been toast!_

(O)

Since he couldn't clean the hot springs due to the police tape, he decides to wash the floors. He walks to the second floor and puts down the bucket, placing the washrag on the floor. Then, he runs across the floor, pushing the rag across the hardwood. What Shinobu doesn't know is that Naru already finished soaking before she put the police tape at the door to the hot springs.

As Keitaro runs across the floor, he's unaware the Naru's standing right in front of him, and then the inevitable happens.

**CRASH!** Keitaro runs straight into her. They both fall to the ground, with his face planted nicely between her legs. An embarrassing situation, considering the fact that she's wearing a skirt, today.

Shinobu goes upstairs to find out what happened. To her dismay, she sees the ronin's head between Naru's legs. Naru herself turns her face red in pure rage.

"BLOOD-SNEEZING LECHERER!" She winds her foot up, but when she uses her Naru kick, she doesn't hit him; rather, when she looks ahead, she sees that she only kicked the air. She missed him, but how? She looks around and finds Keitaro standing in front of an enthusiastic Shinobu.

"Hey! Sempai!" Shinobu says. "Look what I made!" She shows him a metallic dog sculpture of some sort.

"That's nice, Shinobu." Keitaro replies. Though in his head, he's wondering how he avoided Naru's attack.

A vein pops up in Naru's forehead. "Stand still, pervert!" She gears up her fist to attempt a Naru punch, but once again, she hit air. She looks around to see Shinobu dragging Keitaro by his shirt.

"Sempai." Shinobu says. "I need you to help me out with something." She drags him across the hall.

"All right, all right!" Keitaro yelps.

"Dammit, Shinobu!" Naru cries out. She follows them, only to suddenly fall through the floor.

"What was that?" Keitaro asks.

"I told you the floor needs to be more sturdy." Shinobu answers.

Naru lays on the first floor, looking up at the hole on the second floor, the one she just made. How did that happen, anyway? Naru's sharp, so it doesn't take long until it all comes crashing down on her. Shinobu.

(O)

"Why did you bring me up here to the roof?" Keitaro asks.

"I just want to talk, Sempai." Shinobu answers.

"So…" Keitaro says. "What do you want to talk about?"

"I'm thinking…" Shinobu holds her chin, while Keitaro sweat drops.

"It's about Naru, isn't it?" Keitaro inquires.

"I just want to help you." Shinobu says.

"At least you're not direct or aggressive about it." Keitaro replies. "I'll give you that, but know that you just can't do things like that to her. You should be thankful Naru isn't aware that you were the one who loosened the floor to make her fall through it. I'll let you go this one more time." Except that Naru does know about it…

"Shinobu!" Naru cries out, as she approaches the two.

_Oh crap!_ Shinobu thinks to herself. _She knows, and she's itching for a fight, too! How do I get out of this now? Stay calm, Shinobu. Trust your instincts._ "Yes, Naru-sempai?" She says casually.

"What the hell did you do to the floor?" Naru demands. "I could've gotten hurt! It's bad enough I have to live with two different eye colors! Is that not enough for you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Shinobu replies. "The floor's just frail, and you fell through some bad wood."

Naru knows she's lying through her teeth. She isn't going to take any more of this crap. Her muscles get extremely tense to the point that her fist shake. "Shut-up! I don't care if you are defending him! I won't take any more of this from you! I have had it! Go ahead and try your stupid attack again! I'm ready!" Every step she takes makes her grow increasingly furious, with her fist shaking more violently.

_I can't fight her!_ Shinobu thinks. _Or else I'll disappoint Sempai! If I don't do something, though, I'll get beaten the crap out of!_

"Naru, wait!" Keitaro cries out. "She's sorry, all right? Don't do anything rash…"

"I'm taking you out first, Pervert!" Naru runs to him with her fist poised for attack.

_Crap! Sempai!_ Shinobu panics. She knows she has to act fast if she doesn't want another incident. She does. "Wind flower! Wind Flower! GIVE ME CONTROL OF HER BODY!" And with a breeze, Naru stops in her tracks, and just in time; she was just about to hit him. Shinobu sees that she stopped another incident, but now what to do about Naru.

Naru herself is now confused and surprised over what just happened. "This is not cool."

She walks to her and points towards an end of the roof. "Run that way!"

Naru runs towards the end of the roof, even though she doesn't want to. "This is SO not cool!"

"Shinobu!" Keitaro yells. "She's going to run off the roof!"

"Auuuuuuuu!" Shinobu cries out. "I only made her run in one direction! Wind Flower! Wind Flower! RETURN HER CONTROL OVER HER BODY!" It's too late, however. By the time Naru regains control of her own body she falls off the roof. The whole thing seems like it's playing in slow motion in front of both Keitaro's and Shinobu's eyes as her feet leave the roof and her body drops to the ground below.

"NARU-SEMPAI!" Shinobu cries out, as she is helpless to stop her freefall. Naru closes her eyes tightly and waits for the inevitable.

Shinobu then closes her own eyes and falls into what seems to be a Zen trance. "**Wind Flower! Wind Flower! Να είστε το δεξί χέρι που πιάνει εκείνη την πτώση! ΛΥΤΡΩΤΗΣ ΤΥΦΩΝΑ!**"

Naru opens her eyes for a moment to catch a glimpse of Shinobu, standing on the roof. _That language. It was just like when she fought Motoko yesterday._

Suddenly, a gust of wind comes from out of nowhere and blows Naru upwards like a wind tunnel at a skydiving simulator, slowing down Naru's fall drastically until she finally makes a safe landing on the ground. Naru plants her feet on the ground and tries to recover from that fall. She now couldn't help but wonder how Shinobu was able to do that. Hell, she doesn't even know what Shinobu did, but she spoke a foreign language. She sees Shinobu and Keitaro rush towards her.

"Naru-sempai!" Shinobu cries out. "Are you all right?"

"Sort of." She responds. "What the hell did you do?"

"Well," Shinobu replies. "I couldn't stand seeing you fall like that. It frightened the hell out of me, so my body went into autopilot and I suddenly spoke that gaijin language from yesterday, and the next thing I knew, I saw you standing down here." She turns to Keitaro. "Sorry, Sempai. I just couldn't control myself. It seems now no matter what I try, I just can't help it. I want to help you."

Keitaro pauses for a moment. Then, he speaks. "At least you tried to find an alternative route. However, there were still better ways to solve that problem. You could've told her the truth and apologize for what you did. You didn't seem to have a problem doing that at Fujisawa."

"I'm so sorry, Sempai." She stays silent for a moment. Guilt strikes her like a baseball bat to the head.

"But, what's done is done." Keitaro says. "Let's just go. Besides, we have to prepare for the summer festival."

"Ok." Shinobu replies. As all three get back in the house, Shinobu begins to realize that maybe she won't have that date she wanted; again, regret hits her hard. She used to be so meek, but now she couldn't even go as far as to refrain from instigating a conflict. At the same time, she wonders where these incantations keep coming from; it was like pieces of something that was broken in her mind long ago are finally coming back together.

(O)

Back at the house, Shinobu heads for her room to get her Yukata ready for the summer festival, until Keitaro gets hold of her arm. She turns around so her face could meet his. "Sempai?"

"We need to talk." Keitaro says. "Come to my room."

"Ok." Shinobu complies; she follows Keitaro to his room. When Shinobu closes the doors, Keitaro looks back at her.

"Shinobu?" Keitaro says. "We need to talk."

"I'm here, Sempai." Shinobu replies.

"Don't tell the others about this, but I thought this over." Keitaro says. "Shinobu, we're going on a date."

"Really?" Shinobu's eyes light up, shining in pure glee. The depths of her heart quickly grow warmer and warmer with every second, and excitement fills her nerves.

"Sure, but don't tell anyone, ok? Or else they'll flip out."

"After all that happened, you're still…"

"I'm a nice guy." Keitaro interrupts. "Just stick with it."

"All right." Shinobu complies. "I'll get my Yukata." She leaves the room, but looks back at Keitaro before she walks past the door. "Thanks, Sempai."

"One more thing before you leave." Keitaro interrupts.

"Yeah, Sempai?" Shinobu inquires, question marks dancing in her head.

"I think it would be good to take all the police tape down." Keitaro replies. "I'm sure no one's using the hot springs right now."

Shinobu sweat drops. "Crap! I forgot. Thanks, Sempai."

(O)

"Goldfish scooping! Let me try!" Su exclaimed as she walks past the booth.

"Go knock yourself out." Keitaro replies. He and Shinobu approach the shooting booth across the street. There, they see the plethora of prizes they can get.

Shinobu points to one of them. "Sempai! Can you get me that one?"

"You mean the Cadillac? (How'd they get one here in the first place?)" Keitaro reacts.

All the Hinata girls are wearing matching Yukatas; they're blue with a pattern of pimpernel flowers printed on them. Except for Su, who's occupied trying to scoop a goldfish, they all look on, as they seem to take notice to Keitaro and Shinobu's behavior; the two are acting more like a couple tonight; a date, perhaps?

Naru couldn't help but think about the two. If he's going out with Shinobu, then he has to be insane. What of the promise girl? Did he really forget about her, or is it something else? These thoughts just couldn't leave Naru's mind; like a bad neighbor, they refuse to leave. Similar thoughts also cross the minds of the others. Kitsune sort of likes the potential romance, while Motoko just lets it pass her. Su's still trying to catch a goldfish; she's currently on her seventeenth try.

Keitaro couldn't get the Cadillac, but he doesn't mind, because he knows he didn't really have much of a chance in hell, anyway.

Little do they know, someone is watching all of this behind one of the booths, a woman with brown hair in a ponytail, and glasses over a pair of green eyes, and she getting a kick out of what she just watched. Sporting a fine Yukata of her own, this woman… is Dr. Ayumi Ikeda!

To be continued.

Please review and tell me what you think.

At this rate, I mind as well start signing up to be a writer for frickin' Days of our Lives.

* * *

Coming up next chapter… _Dr. Ayumi Ikeda_

That psycho psychiatrist is back, and she comes to visit the Hinata House to check up on Shinobu, but it's clear that her intentions go further that that. Plus, a past Shinobu herself didn't know about is revealed.

* * *

Author's Notes: 

That's it for this chapter; I hope it didn't disappoint. Right now, this fic has almost twenty four hundred hits, as well as sixty-nine reviews. Please don't hesitate to review, as I'm aiming for one hundred!

In the language of flowers, the pimpernel represents life change, which is fitting to Shinobu's maturity.

Shinobu's spell invocation at the end of the chapter is "Να είστε το δεξί χέρι που πιάνει εκείνη την πτώση! ΛΥΤΡΩΤΗΣ ΤΥΦΩΝΑ". That says "Na eiste to dexi cheri pou pianei ekeine ten ptose! LUTROTES TYPHONA!" which means "Be the right hand that catches those falling! HURRICANE SAVIOUR!" Once again, I had to go through a lot of crap to convert the Greek letters to English ones. As for the Greek phrases themselves, I used a WorldLingo machine translator to translate an English sentence that sounded like a good spell invocation to me to Greek, so it may not be completely accurate. I should be helping pyrotechnic on that.

Until next chapter, Ciao!

-GYRAX of the Dark Icon Writers


	7. Dr Ayumi Ikeda

Note: I do not own Love Hina, or any other intellectual properties. They are all copyrights of their respectful owners. The rest, however, is MINE, BEE-YOTCHES!

Wow! It seems a lot of people are talking about little old Ayumi, now. She's becoming popular!

**BigFics2** – That would be real pairing goodness.

**NefCanuck** – Despite a few acts of impulse, Shinobu does know better now.

**de bombz** – Yeah, I noticed. She's really good at it, too.

**that man** – Thanks for the comment.

**Lee3** – My God! They DO look like statistics!

**oblivionknight7** – Maybe.

**VoidHawk** – I really liked your idea, so I was sure to put it into my story. Come to think of it, I may bring Tsuruko into the story, but I don't know where, yet. For now, I'm just improvising for the story in general.

**Havenoname** – Well, I'm still thinking of ways to use Keitaro's immortality.

**Hotstreak RMD** – Thankfully, the mushyness is over, for now.

**tomdj1701** – Thanks

**Drgnmastr of the Dark Icon Writers** – I appreciate that comment.

**Bluezone777 of the Dark Icon Writers** – Thanks for the comment.

* * *

GYRAX Presents… 

_Awe of She_

Chapter 7: _Dr. Ayumi Ikeda_

_

* * *

_**KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!**

Keitaro hears the knocking on the door from upstairs. He goes to see who it is. When he goes to the lobby, he sees the figure standing at the other end of the door. Because of the sun shining, he could only see the silhouette. He goes to open the door. When he opens it, he is able to see the figure with more clarity; it's a woman.

She's wearing almond high heels on her feet, and her legs are covered by brown pantyhose. An almond jacket gently embraces her exceptionally curvaceous figure with a white t-shirt underneath it and a tight skirt of the same color as her jacket, which is two-thirds of the way down to her knees. Even with her jacket on, her breast size is still easy to figure out.

Her hair is nicely tied up in a braided ponytail, in eight large braids to be exact, and it extends to her back. Her bangs part at the center and hang over her forehead like rings, with two thick strands of hair over her ears, each with their own strand of hair curving slightly towards her face. She has two small and crooked antennae sprouting from her bangs. She's wearing slim-frame glasses over her eyes, which look like they're closed, like Kitsune's; she has a beauty mark right below her left one. Gold earrings dangle out of her ears.

Keitaro couldn't help but take notice to her beauty, and his face blushes, but he tries to maintain his composure. "Umm, may I help you?"

The woman looks straight at him with a smile on her face. "Sure thing, small, pale, and adorable." The woman says in a chipper tone, like a schoolgirl.

"Yeah…" Keitaro replies, a bit freaked out at first. "What is it that you need? Directions?"

"I wish to see Shinobu Maehara." She says. "She lives here, right?"

"Yeah I'll get her." Keitaro complies. Then he heads towards the staircase in the lobby. He shouts out towards the upstairs. "Shinobu! There's someone here to see you!"

"Coming, Sempai!" Shinobu's voice yells out from the second floor. Shinobu then heads down to the lobby and goes towards the door, but she stops more than halfway when she sees the woman standing at the door. "Dr. Ikeda!"

"Hi, Shinobu!" Ayumi calls out. She turns to Keitaro. "May I come in?"

"Sure." Keitaro answers. With that, Ayumi quickly enters the house.

"What are you doing here?' Shinobu inquires.

"I just want to check up on you." She answers. "So how are things going?"

"Fine now." Shinobu replies. "I have you to thank for the advice. My mind's more at peace now."

"That's great." Ayumi said. "Can we go outside for a few minutes?"

"Sure." Shinobu complies. They both head out of the door and to the front of the building. Ayumi motions Shinobu to stand still as she walks a few feet away from her. Her glasses reflect the sunlight, giving off a Gendo Ikari-like glare to them as she looks at Shinobu.

"Mind if I test you?" Ayumi requests.

"Meaning…" Shinobu answers.

Afterwards, Ayumi dashes towards her at an alarming speed. Shinobu's too startled to react before Ayumi gives her a swift snap kick to her face, sending her on a collision course with a tree.

"Shinobu!" Keitaro cries out.

"Don't." Ayumi says. "She's fine." Her smile doesn't leave her face. "In fact, I didn't even scratch her."

"What?" Keitaro replies.

Shinobu recovers quickly and brushed the dirt off of her, as if nothing had ever happened to her. She then gives Ayumi a glare. "Dr. Ikeda! What the hell was that for?"

"Fu fu fu fu fu." Ayumi laughs. "I just wanted to see how much you've grown since your trip to Fujisawa. You made some progress. Now it's your turn to attack."

"You want me to…" Shinobu trails off. She thinks for a moment. _How did I defeat Motoko? Think, Shinobu. Think!_ She attempts to recall the duel. After a few seconds, her attempt is successful.

"_ESSENCE OF THE SHINMEI SCHOOL CONCEALED EVIL CUTTING FIST, SECOND FORM!" She sends a massive ki attack, which shoots towards Shinobu at breakneck speeds._

_Shinobu quickly reacts. "BARRIER!" She creates a hemispherical shield that easily deflects the attack. Keitaro and the others gasp as they watch in shock and awe, but Motoko doesn't bother to speak, but she too is still amazed as to what Shinobu was able to do. Out of the blue, Shinobu vanishes out of thin air._

_Motoko thinks her mind is playing tricks on her. "Where on Earth did she go?" Her answer comes to her quickly. She feels a presence behind her, but by the time she turns around, Shinobu already has her right palm open, and in front of abdomen. Motoko sees her eyes, and notices that there's no glare or shine in them. Just then, Shinobu cries out at the top of her lungs…_

"_**ΦΑΝΤΑΣΤΙΚΗ ΠΥΓΜΗ ΑΕΡΑ**!" A burst of wind comes out of nowhere and hits her stomach, launching her clear across the front yard, and on a collision course with a tree. Motoko gets up and holds her abdomen._

_What did I say back then?_ Shinobu thinks. Ayumi was waiting for her to make a move. After a few more seconds, Shinobu showed signs that she's ready to go. Out of the blue, Shinobu vanishes out of thin air.

"Fu fu fu fu fu!" Ayumi laughed. She feels a presence behind her, but by the time she turns around, Shinobu already has her right palm open, and in front of abdomen. Just then, Shinobu cries out at the top of her lungs…

"**ΦΑΝΤΑΣΤΙΚΗ ΠΥΓΜΗ ΑΕΡΑ**!" Ayumi swiftly performs an aerial cartwheel to avoid the pocket of air that shot out of Shinobu's hand.

"How did…" Before Shinobu finishes, Ayumi quickly runs towards her, then bears to her left. Then she runs towards Shinobu again, forcing hr to adapt, but the girl isn't quick enough.

"ΛΑΚΤΙΣΜΑ ΑΓΑΛΜΑΤΩΝ!" Ayumi gives Shinobu a flying kick to her face, sending her a good distance until she hits the ground hard.

Shinobu recovers, with blood coming out of her nose. _How did she do that?_ Shinobu thinks. _I put up a barrier, but she got through it so easily!_

"Fu fu fu fu fu!" Ayumi muses. "Nice wind barrier, Shinobu, but I turned my legs to stone so I could break through it."

_She petrified her own legs?_ Shinobu thinks, wide-eyed. "How did you dodge my attack? I swore that strategy was foolproof!"

"Unless someone saw you use it before." Ayumi replies. "I saw what you did two days ago. You used a wind gate to transport yourself to a location behind the samurai, and then you used an Imaginary Wind Fist and struck her into submission. I watched the whole thing. Fu fu fu fu fu!"

"YOU WERE SPYING ON US!" Shinobu screamed. Her fury quickly turned on Ayumi, as the bluenette punched her right square in the face.

Ayumi quickly springs back, her smile never leaving her face. "I don't handle surprise attacks well. Let's try this again!" The older woman closes the distance between her and Shinobu in near-light speed. She trips her with a well-placed sweep kick, and follows it up with an axe kick, launching her into mid-air. She turns around and jumps upward, and quickly performs a back layout flip and gives her another kick to the abdomen, having her speed towards the ground. Shinobu quickly comes back to, landing on her feet and jumping out of the way, forcing Ayumi to waste her last kick on the cement. The older woman however, is still smiling.

"Fu fu fu fu fu!" Ayumi laughs again, with her right hand covering her mouth. "I'm surprised I can fight this well with my high heels on."

"What the hell is going on?" Naru demands. She turns to see Ayumi. "And who is that?"

"I'm her psychologist." Ayumi answers, still in her chipper tone.

"I thought you were a psychiatrist." Shinobu interjects.

"There's a difference?" Ayumi replies. Shinobu sweat drops as a response.

"What's all the ruckus?" Kitsune enters the scene, accompanied by Motoko.

"This woman claims to be Shinobu's psychiatrist." Naru answers.

"Everyone stand back!" Shinobu shouts. "This is already getting ugly; I don't want to involve anyone in this. It's just between me and Dr. Ikeda!"

"Really," Ayumi adds. "Listen to the girl; I'm trying to fight her, here."

"…" Naru, Motoko, and Kitsune just stand there, puzzled.

"Let's continue, shall we?" Ayumi muses. "It's your turn to make a move."

"If you insist." Shinobu replies. _All right. I'll try to strike her with a bolt of lightning, like I did to Naru-sempai._ Suddenly, storm clouds form above Ayumi. She looks up, but she still keeps her smile.

_Lightning, huh?_ Ayumi ponders to herself. _Too predictable, Shinobu._ "**ΑΣΠΙΔΑ ΤΗΣ ΓΗΣ ΜΗΤΕΡΩΝ!**" All of a sudden, a rock dome forms around Ayumi, protecting her just before the bolt of lightning comes down. Even after the bolt hits her rock dome, it remains unscratched. From inside the dome, you could hear Ayumi's voice shout out, "**ΕΞΟΠΛΙΣΜΟΣ ΤΗΣ ΓΗΣ ΜΗΤΕΡΩΝ**!" Just then, the dome breaks into chunks. Those chunks suddenly soar straight towards Shinobu.

"FREEZE!" Shinobu shouts. The large rocks freeze over, and Shinobu uses all her might to break through them, shattering them into small pieces. She charges straight towards Ayumi and throws a punch, but Ayumi puts her left knee high in the air and blocks it with ease. Shinobu's eyes grow wide. "Wha…"

"Professional tip, Shinobu," Ayumi says. "Don't attack a skilled fighter head on. It's way too easy for your opponent to counter. Instead, try the attack from a different angle"

Shinobu tries to get that into her head, but she's sidetracked by her own thoughts. Ayumi takes notice quickly.

"Another tip." Ayumi adds. "Don't get distracted." She immediately performs a roundhouse kick, her foot striking Shinobu dead in her right cheek. Shinobu practically falls to the ground, but quickly springs back and jumps a few feet away from her.

"Fu fu fu fu fu!" Ayumi laughs again. "I forgot I was wearing a skirt today. I'll try not to perform any high kicks again, though I prefer to fight with my feet. Legs are supposed to be stronger than arms, because they're supposed to be what supports your weight."

_Damn! She's able to anticipate my every move! And why would she be helping me?_ Shinobu thinks. _Is she testing me? Damn! I can't seem to land a hit on her, anymore! She's too good!_ Her muscles are really tensing up. Motoko notices this in a hurry.

_She may not even be close to being a doctor of any kind, but she's one awesome fighter. She even has Shinobu on the ropes. Shinobu herself is too tense, so she's at a disadvantage. I'll need to help out. _"Shinobu! Calm down!" Motoko commands.

"Motoko?" Shinobu says.

"First of all, stay cool." Motoko replies. "Then, focus all of your senses on your opponent. As it is right now, you're basically too tense to fight; you could barely see straight. Comparing you to that doctor woman on a mental level is practically unfair; while you're growing frustrated, she hasn't wiped that smile off of her face."

"You may have a point, there, Motoko." Shinobu replies. "I'm not sure if I could beat her, even if my mind was at ease."

"And that's why you can't do it." Motoko responded. "Another important aspect of fighting is confidence. You have to say to yourself that you can beat her, no matter how hard it seems like. Understand?"

"Take her advice." Ayumi interrupts. "You may have beaten her days ago, but you still have a few things you could pick up from her."

Shinobu stands silent, accepting Motoko's words and putting them deep in her mind. _Stay focused, Shinobu. Calm down and think. How can I stop her? What haven't I tried yet? Perhaps…_

"I'm waiting." Ayumi muses.

"Hold on." Shinobu replies. She closes her eyes and takes a few deep breaths, and for a moment, her mind is back in serenity. She opens her eyes and looks straight at Ayumi, with a more composed look on her face. "Let's start this again, Dr. Ikeda." Just as she says that, she levitates. After a few seconds of hovering in the air, she dashes towards Ayumi at shocking speed. Just when the older woman is about to counterattack, Shinobu suddenly bears to her left. She flies back towards her, forcing her to adapt. Ayumi attempts another roundhouse kick, but Shinobu ducks and follows it up with an uppercut. Unfortunately, Shinobu's punch doesn't connect, but instead, Ayumi dodges it and quickly jumps away, performing a triple back flip in the process.

The older woman comes back and goes to attack Shinobu from the side. She comes from her right, and when Shinobu turns around, she knees her right in the gut, and then she follows it up with a hook kick to her head, sending her a good distance away. Shinobu immediately comes back to and bears to her right. Then she stops on her tracks and, from out of the blue, she vanishes. She reappears on the other side, preparing another punch. Ayumi tries to counter with a back kick, but Shinobu swiftly evades it and socks her dead in the face, forcing her into mid air. Shinobu takes the time to run underneath her and point her open palm towards her. She cries out…

"**ΦΑΝΤΑΣΤΙΚΗ ΠΥΓΜΗ ΑΕΡΑ**!" A pocket of air blows Ayumi to the sky.

"Fu fu fu fu fu!" Ayumi laughs, while in mid-air. A thundercloud appears over her, and a bolt of lightning, courtesy of Shinobu, strikes her.

The rest of the Hinata tenants only watch in shock as they take witness to Shinobu's sudden comeback. Motoko sighs, seemingly in relief. Ayumi falls flat on her face, with singe marks all over her. She springs back on her feet, and it's when she stands up that her sudden wear and tear shows; her jacket and skirt have dirt singe marks on them, her hair is a bit messy and her face is slightly burned, all from the lightning strike. Also, her pantyhose have a couple of holes and her high heels have a scratch of two.

Ayumi claps her hands with that smile still on her face, as if she's congratulating her, and she is. "Well done, Shin-chan! How were you able to master your abilities that quickly?"

Shinobu takes a minute to think that over. _I don't know how. It's not like I learn them. They just come to me. It's as if I was supposed to remember them, but I didn't._

"That's all right." Ayumi adds. "You did good, but you still need some more time."

"Dammit, Ayu-kun! What did I say about picking fights?" A voice calls out. All of the Hinata tenants look around, but they can't see where the voice is coming from. It speaks again. "Add to it I've been looking all over for you!"

"I'm sorry. It's just…" Ayumi trails off, pinching her own cheek. She looks down to see a green lizard standing in front of her. By the looks of it, the lizard appears to be a bearded dragon. The lizard also seems to have a monocle over his right eye. It speaks.

"I told you something would happen if you pick too many fights." The lizard says. "Look at you. Your suit is burned and your pantyhose have holes in it, not to mention the scratches on your shoes. You know how much money I had to fork over to buy you that outfit?"

At this point, the Hinata crew, including Shinobu, watches on with their eyes the size of vinyl records.

"I won't do it again, Beardie." Ayumi apologizes. The lizard jumps on her and nestles itself on her shoulders.

Ayumi notices the shocked looks on the Hinata housers' faces. "Oh, sorry. I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Ayumi Ikeda." She motions to the lizard on her shoulders. "And he's my companion, Beardie."

"The lizard talks." Naru says.

"The politically correct term would be bearded dragon." Ayumi replies.

"But they're from Australia." Keitaro says. "So why's he speaking in an Old English accent? (And what's with the monocle?)"

"Forget that." Ayumi responds. "Right now, Shinobu and I need to talk."

"Just don't turn on me, okay?" Shinobu requests.

"I won't." Ayumi replies. "Beardie won't let me." She then pinches her own cheek. Then, she and Shinobu enter the house, the rest of them follow.

"Naru…" Kitsune trails off.

"Don't ask." Naru cuts her off.

(O)

"You're a magi." Ayumi declares sitting on the couch in the lobby.

"A what?" Shinobu asks, sitting across from her on another couch.

"You're a magi." Ayumi repeats. "It's basically another term for a sorcerer or a wizard."

"The Shinmei School has had some close associations with magi before, but mostly Eastern ones." Motoko explains.

"Yep." Ayumi agrees. "I used to work with them, but on to the topic. Shinobu? Do you remember what happened fifteen years ago?"

"No." Shinobu answers. "I wasn't even born then."

"I see." Ayumi's smile begins to fade, she opens her eyes, and her face gives off a more serious, concerned look. "You're memories have definitely been screwed around with. All right. This is a long story so bear with me. You were born nineteen years ago; your mother was a Magi from Greece, and your father was a normal Japanese man. One day, fifteen years ago, you went to this exact house to meet a young boy by the name of Keitaro Urashima."

"Wait, wait!" Naru demands. "I'm lost. There's no way in hell Shinobu could be that old! I mean, she was thirteen a few weeks ago, and then boom; she looks like this! How do I know you're not going to tell a bunch of bullcrap?"

"Naru's got a point." Kitsune agrees.

"She's not making this up." Shinobu says. "I'm reading her mind, and it seems she's reaching deep in her memory banks."

"Shinobu…" Naru trails off.

"As I was saying," Ayumi continues. "When you met Keitaro, the two of you became fast friends. You were attracted to his aura; it was love at first sight." She smiles and closes her eyes again. "It was so adorable. I couldn't help myself. I was only seventeen back then."

"You were there?" Keitaro asks.

"Yep." Ayumi answers. She then goes back to her serious face. "Anyways, the two of you made the promise to each other. A byproduct of such was a light spell that you cast upon him even without even realizing it, to protect him for the while that you were apart for you knew you would go part ways soon. Well, the spell was not exact, and while giving him special healing powers, did make him being surrounded by a "clumsy field" which ended up making him a little messy around girls."

The Hinata residents could only listen in disbelief as Ayumi tells what seems to be quite an outlandish story, even by their standards.

Ayumi continues. "Well, the two of you parted ways, promising to see each other again. The problem is what happened last year. That was when another magi who went by the name of Acheron Kuznetsova attacked you and your mother. You were a strong Magi, and you managed to protect your mother form him, but he put a spell on you that caused you to age back six years, and confused your memories."

"Is this true?" Kitsune asks.

"It is; I was there." Ayumi replies. "Shinobu.Your mother tried to heal you, but to no avail...But she was able to determine that once you reached maturity, she would regain her powers, and maybe her memories. Either that, or you find your true love, or the man you made your promise to, for his healing abilities would bring you back to normal. Judging by your looks, you found him. With your continuous interactions with this promise man, his powers must have seeped into you and…" A smile crosses her face, and she closes her eyes again. "BINGO!"

"Wow." Kitsune jaw drops. "That's some story."

"I still have difficulty believing it, though." Naru grows skeptical.

"I have to agree with her on this matter." Motoko adds. "It sounds radical, but the fact that Magi exist opens up possibilities."

"It's entirely true. I told you, she was reaching within the inner banks of her memories. I'm telepathic." Shinobu replies. "But my powers, how did I…"

"You're regaining your memories." Ayumi cuts her off. "You were a powerful Magi, like I said before, and those spells are now just coming back to you. Your old self is slowly coming back piece by piece, which also explains your dual persona from before your trip to Fujisawa."

"My old self?" Shinobu asks.

"Yep. From before your memories were scrambled." Ayumi replies. "So where is your promise man, now?"

"Excuse me, Ayu-kun," Beardie whispers in her ear. "But don't you think he looks familiar?" He points to Keitaro. Ayumi takes a close look at him. After a few seconds of inspection, she quickly grows excited and squeals. "EEEEEEEEE! YOU FOUND HIM!"

"No way!" Naru says. "Shinobu's really the promise girl…"

"I never knew, Shinobu!" Kitsune exclaims. "That's quite a story, too."

"AND SHE'S A MAGICAIN, TOO!" Su screams. "SHINOMU! PULL A RABBIT OUT OF YOUR HAT!"

"And make a bottle of sake appear out of thin air!" Kitsune adds.

"And while you're at it, make me float in a ring or two." Naru jokes around.

"NUH-UH!" Shinobu retorts. "Forget it!"

"Fu fu fu fu fu!" Ayumi enjoys the commotion for a minute. Then, she turns to Beardie. "I'm going to stay here for the night. Can you get my clothes for me?"

"Okay, Ayu-kun." Beardie replies, and with that, he jumps off her shoulder and exits the Hinata House.

"You're staying here?" Keitaro asks.

"Yep." Ayumi replies. She quickly slowly approaches him. "If you want a lover, though, I'm really wild in bed."

"GET AWAY FROM HIM, PERVERT!" Shinobu snatches Keitaro away from her. "You just told me that I'm his promise girl!"

"Oops." Ayumi replies, pinching her cheeks. "I guess I forgot already."

"There you go, flirting with guys again." Beardie sighs, putting down a bag of clothing. "How old is he now, twenty?"

"Well," Ayumi responds. "I'm thirty-two and I still don't have a guy, yet. I thought they were into that stuff."

"You must've chosen the wrong guys, then." Beardie replies, note the sarcasm. The lizard approaches Keitaro and Shinobu. "Don't mind her. She hasn't had a date in thirteen years; she's acting desperate."

"Fu fu! You were saying…" Ayumi says.

"Oh, shoot." Beardie vocalizes. And he makes a run for it.

"Fu fu fu fu fu!" Ayumi laughs. "Take back the comment, or I'll cut your tail off again." Her smile doesn't leave her face.

Keitaro and Shinobu could only think about what to do next, now that they may have known what really happened."

To be continued.

Please review and tell me what you think.

Not much plot in this chapter, but it does hold relevance. I would like to give thanks to **VoidHawk** for helping me out with the story. The idea behind Shinobu's past and her being the promise girl is entirely his. I'll reveal more of this past in the next chapter. Thank you, **VoidHawk**!

Also, I apologize if Ayumi's laugh was annoying as hell.

* * *

Coming up next chapter… _I'm Goin' Down to Kyoto_

Ayumi takes the Hinata tenants to Kyoto, where they visit Shinobu's mother and father. They reminisce on what really happened one year ago.

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Author's Notes: 

That's it for this chapter; I hope it didn't disappoint. Right now, this fic has three thousand and forty-five hits, as well as eighty-one reviews. Please don't hesitate to review, as I'm aiming for one hundred!

Dr. Ayumi Ikeda's attack, "ΛΑΚΤΙΣΜΑ ΑΓΑΛΜΑΤΩΝ", when decoded to the English alphabet, says "LAKTISMA AGALMATON", which means "STATUE KICK". This invocation causes her legs to turn to stone temporarily, so that they would prove effective against Magi who specialize in wind and/or thunder magic. In this chapter, she used it to break through Shinobu's wind barrier, so her kicks could be more effective.

Her spell, "ΑΣΠΙΔΑ ΤΗΣ ΓΗΣ ΜΗΤΕΡΩΝ", when decoded to the English alphabet, says "ASPIDA TES GES METERON", which means "SHIELD OF MOTHER EARTH". This spell creates a dome of rock to protect herself from attack, but it can't hold forever against stronger attacks, and Ayumi needs to take it down to breathe, as it's completely closed, with no pockets for air.

Her next spell, "ΕΞΟΠΛΙΣΜΟΣ ΤΗΣ ΓΗΣ ΜΗΤΕΡΩΝ", when decoded to the English alphabet, says "EXOPLISMOS TES GES METERON!" which means "ARMAMENT OF MOTHER EARTH". This spell breaks the dome from her "SHIELD OF MOTHER EARTH" spell into chunks, and she telekinetically throws those chunks at her opponents. She learned this spell later in life, and combining the two spells proves to be a simple but effective strategy that works, even today.

Again, I had to go through a lot of crap to convert the Greek letters to English ones. As for the Greek phrases themselves, I used a WorldLingo machine translator to translate an English sentence that sounded like a good spell invocation to me to Greek, so it may not be completely accurate.

And now…a character profile.

Ayumi Ikeda

Age: 32  
Birthday: October 16th, 1968 (Keep in mind this story takes place in 2000.)  
Sex: Female  
Blood Type: AB-  
Hometown: Kyoto  
Height/Weight: 172cm./57kg.  
Hair Color/Eye color: Brown/Green  
Breast Size: D-cup :p  
Terribly nearsighted/Wears glasses

Ayumi is quite an unpredictable chick. At first, she's completely immature, acting childish on her free time, but at other times, she becomes very dependable, and she's a very strong woman. Mostly, she's very carefree, cool, and composed, and she's usually seen with a smile on her face. She almost never loses her cool. Also, she has a problem with flirting around with other men, and she's become perverted over the years. This is a result of never being able to get a guy to even give her the time of day in thirteen years. Despite her shortcomings, she's definitely a woman to look up to, and she's a powerful magi as well as an amazing fighter. Her kicks are swift, graceful, and practically flawless, and her spells don't pull any punches either. Her sex appeal also gives her an advantage, except when she tries to get a man. A boy will only notice her remarkable body, or just her breasts, for a short time until he realizes that she's really creepy. All in all, she's not a bad woman to hang around with, but you'll have to endure her flaws first, if you really want to befriend her.

Bernard "Beardie" Francis

Age: 45 Years (Magic allows him to age like humans.)  
Birthday: June 8th, 1955  
Sex: Male  
Hometown: Liverpool, England  
Wears a monocle over his right eye

Beardie is Ayumi's companion bearded dragon (although bearded dragons only live in Australia, and he comes form England). He also acts as her father, or mother in some cases, trying his best to keep her from doing something stupid. Beardie practically is her parental figure, considering Ayumi's parents died when she was twelve, and she's no longer adopted by Shinobu's parents. Despite his strict persona, and his sophisticated tastes, he manages to become a character a few people could relate to, and he can be a good friend. Think Chamo-kun from _Negima_ fame, but with a lot more class.

* * *

WHOO! That was long! But I'm done, now, so I don't have to worry. As for you Naru bashers out there, if you want any more of the bashing goodness, just tell me. 

Until next chapter, Ciao!

-GYRAX of the Dark Icon Writers


	8. I'm Goin' Down to Kyoto

Note: I do not own Love Hina, or any other intellectual properties. They are all copyrights of their respectful owners. The rest, however, is MINE, BEE-YOTCHES!

**djranmafan** – You don't have to say that much, dude. Thank you.

**bluezone777 of the Dark Icon Writers** – I appreciate that.

**Lee3** – Thanks.

**Kogasgir142** – I'm glad I gave you a good first impression.

**NefCanuck** - Again, I have **VoidHawk** to thank for the back-story; it was his idea. And I'm sorry about Chamo-kun.

**de bombz** – That's only the beginning, too, my friend.

**Havenoname** – Thanks so much! One of my favorite genres is action (the other is comedy.). I like Dragon Ball Z, but I don't think I can come up with a fic that hasn't been done before over there (Dragon Ball Z had almost 30,000 fanfictions under its belt.)

**BigFics2** – Again, I have **VoidHawk** to thank for the back-story. As for the fight scene, I wanted to make it look like Ayumi would win at first, for the sake of making it all the more intense. A secret of making your stories great is having the audience's emotions at your disposal. Toying around with them makes your stories more attractive. You've already done a good job with that in your fic, _Elope a Dope_.

**Hotstreak RMD** – There will be more action scenes along the way; I'm planning a couple more later in the story. I think Ayumi and Beardie would compliment each other well; it'll make for some good moments.

**VoidHawk** – Thanks for helping me out. I got your new ideas, and I'm definitely looking into them. Again, I appreciate your help, and collaboration is always fun. I'm currently working on another fic, a joint author story with **Keitaro+Motoko 4ever of the Dark Icon Writers**, but I'll be sure to update this one as quickly as possible.

**tomdj1701** – That it is. So, you're going to stick with **oblivionknight7** on the good doctor, eh:p

**oblivionknight7** – Aren't we getting kinky:p

**Drgnmastr-Alex of the Dark Icon Writers** – I'll be sure to put a few extra twists and turns here and there. Plot twists make a story more intriguing.

* * *

GYRAX Presents… 

_Awe of She_

Chapter 8: _I'm Goin' Down to Kyoto_

**_

* * *

_**  
Ayumi sleeps the night away on the couch in the lobby, in her Spongebob pajamas; she prefers to sleep on couches for some odd reason. As the morning approaches, the growing light forces Ayumi to open her emerald eyes slowly. She slowly pushes her body up, so she would be at a sitting position. Then, Ayumi hears footsteps coming from upstairs. She turns around to see a half-asleep Keitaro walking down the wooden steps.

Keitaro only had one thing in his head since last night, and it still sticks to him like glue; the fact that Shinobu is the promised girl sound radical, but now he can't help but recall what happened over two years ago. Keitaro is now gaining memory about a beautiful girl with long blue hair bumping into him back at cram school, while getting prepared for the entrance exams at Toudai. He could still barely remember who the girl was, but now he's coming up with a theory or two about the girl's identity. Could it really be? The thought of it begins to wake him up a bit more as he walks to the kitchen.

Ayumi sees him disappear from the hallways, and then she picks up her glasses, which is placed on the table. She takes a few clothes out of her bag, which is on the floor next to the table, and heads upstairs. Beardie is still fast asleep.

(O)

Keitaro leans on a kitchen wall and tries to get the thought of that girl in cram school out of his head for the moment. The though was what caused him to lose so much sleep last night. That girl with the blue hair…he never had a chance to see her face, but he couldn't help to think about her, and that's ever since Ayumi told that crazy story about Shinobu yesterday. Even though it wouldn't leave his head, the memory isn't even a clear one.

Then, he hears footsteps coming towards him. He looks up to see Ayumi; she's dressed in a lavender blouse with her collar open down below her collarbone, a tight white skirt that extends two thirds to her knees, brown pantyhose, and white high-heels.

Ayumi quickly takes Keitaro and holds him to her chest. The ronin now has his face buried deep in her breasts. His face quickly turns redder than a cherry Blow-Pop and hastily breaks free.

"Why the hell did you do that, Ayumi?" Keitaro shouts.

"To snap you out of it, Zen Man." Ayumi replies in her usual cheerful tone. "You were lost in thought, and you didn't look like your normal self, so I thought I had to do something about it."

"I don't need that long an explanation." Keitaro interjects. "You need to quit that. If you really want a guy, you have to know that looks isn't the only thing a decent man looks for."

"Sure thing, Mom." Ayumi responds sarcastically, pinching her right cheek. "But I was pretty sure that men didn't go that deep."

"Whatever." Keitaro says. He leaves the kitchen.

Ayumi pauses for a moment, and then something hits her. "Damn. I should've told him to call the girls down. I need to talk to them."

"You could always do it yourself." Says a voice from one end of the kitchen. Beardie jumps up on Ayumi shoulder. "What do you want them for, anyway?"

Ayumi holds her chin.

(O)

Later, the Hinata tenants are gathered at the table in the meeting room, with Ayumi standing in front of them, ready to speak.

"You know why I called you here right?" Ayumi asks.

"No." Motoko answers. "You just called us here."

"Oh, right." Ayumi replies, pinching her right cheek again.

"What have you called us here for, anyway?" Naru asks.

Ayumi answers. "I wish to inform you that today we're going on a trip to Kyoto."

"We are?" Keitaro inquires.

"Yep." Ayumi responds. "To visit Mr. and Mrs. Maehara's house."

"But Shinobu's parents live in Kanagawa." Naru interrupts. "And Shinobu came here because her parents were fighting and she didn't want her life to be dictated by their breakup."

"And who told you that?" Ayumi says, curious.

"Shinobu told us, when she came here." Motoko answers.

"I don't think so." Ayumi replies. "You see, the curse I mentioned to you yesterday confused her memories. She was a bit mentally ill when we sent her to you guys."

"More of your radical story, huh?" Naru says. "The story you told yesterday has no plausibility, whatsoever. I mean, the one Shinobu told us when she came sounded more believable then this. I found way too many flaws in your story and now you're trying to think of new ways to make up for it. The story just isn't real."

"Sure it is." Ayumi replies. "I've seen it happen."

"How can you say that with a smile on your face?" Naru asks.

"Because I was happy when I said it." Ayumi answers. "Notice the look on my face. Obviously, you don't believe me, so we're going to Kyoto to prove it. Pack your bags."

"You have the money for that?" Keitaro inquires.

"Yep." Ayumi says. Out of the blue, envelopes pop out of thin air. She passes one to each tenant, as well as Keitaro. "Each envelope has some money needed to get by on an average vacation in Kansai."

"Sweet." Keitaro says to himself.

"Ayu-kun," Beardie whispers to Ayumi's ears. "At this rate, your account will run dry."

"Don't worry." Ayumi replies casually. "I'm saving up."

"So, when are we going?" Motoko asks.

"Right now." Ayumi answers.

(O)

As Haruka serves another customer, she notices Keitaro and the others walking down to the bottom of the steps. Keitaro sees her and waves.

"I'm going on another trip, okay?" Keitaro says.

"Already?" Haruka asks. "You've only been here for a few days." She sees Ayumi standing next to Keitaro. "And who is that woman?"

"Shinobu's psychiatrist." Keitaro replies. "Dr. Ayumi Ikeda."

"I love to talk, Haru-chan, but we have to go. See ya!" Ayumi runs off, with the others following her."

Haruka could just barely hear Keitaro say "Haru-chan?"

She takes the ever-present cigarette out of her mouth and ponders out loud. "Wow. I can't believe I just forgot about her. (I also can't believe she still calls me Haru-chan.)"

(O)

Keitaro packs his bags in an overhead compartment in the train and sits at the seat next to the window. Ayumi takes a seat next to him before Shinobu could, which irritates the bluenette. Shinobu then sits behind them. The rest of the tenants find some seats of their own, except for Su, who's creating quite a ruckus.

"You know," Ayumi speaks. "They had to send Shinobu to the Hinata house because she needed protection while still under the curse. They were aware that a student of the Shinmei School was there so she could stay there in safety for around two years."

"You told me the curse happened one year ago." Shinobu says.

"Oops. Sorry. I meant to say that it happened almost THREE years ago." Ayumi pinches her right cheek again. Shinobu and Keitaro sigh in unison.

"Anyway," Ayumi continues. "The curse was terrible; Mrs. Maehara couldn't heal her, so she sought help from the Shinmei School, in case Shinobu and the family might be under attack again. She sent Shinobu to the Hinata house, where one of the Shinmei School's own, Motoko, resides, though not fully aware of the situation."

Motoko looks at Ayumi for a second, after her name is mentioned.

"It'll be more clear once we get to Kyoto." Ayumi says.

_Is she really lying?_ Naru thinks. _I don't think anyone would go this far for a lie. Who knows?_

(O)

As they get out of the train, carrying their own luggage, Ayumi turns to Keitaro and Shinobu, whom she persuaded to hold hands. "Luckily, the house isn't that long of a walk from here."

Keitaro and Shinobu both laugh nervously, as their hands are tightly clasped to one another's. This definitely isn't something Motoko and Naru are used to, but Kitsune and Su don't seem to mind.

"It's a quaint little place, it is." Ayumi says with a smile on her face.

(O)

"HOYL SHIT! IT'S HUGE!" Keitaro exclaims.

"Keitaro!" Shinobu says. "There are minors here." She points to Su and Ayumi.

Indeed the house is huge; Ayumi's comment from the train station could've won the prize for understatement of the year. The place looks to be almost as big as the Hinata house. Everyone gawks at it in awe, except for Ayumi, who just feels glad to be at her adopted home again.

"Hold on, why don't you guys stay here?" Ayumi says. "I want to surprise them."

"Ok." Keitaro complies. With that, Ayumi walks in the house.

Naru just couldn't get these thoughts out of her head, no matter how much she tries. _Shinobu can't be his promise girl. I just can't see that happening. The story doesn't even sound believable. But what if she really is…No, she can't be. It's just not right._

"Are you all right, Naru?" Kitsune says in concern.

"Yeah," Naru replies. "Just thinking about something.

Keitaro's head, on the other hand, is being lashed by another memory. This time, he recalls himself waiting outside the prep school back at exam day. He remembers the gut feeling he got that day, and the sudden unusual gust of wind that blew from his left. And cherry blossoms fell on his shoulders, as if they were telling him something bad might have happened. Suddenly he hears a voice and snaps out of it.

"Sempai, are you all right?" Shinobu asks, concerned over his vegetable state.

"Yeah." Keitaro replies, in effort to reassure Shinobu that all is good.

(O)

The foyer is exceptionally large. Paper walls all around, and graced with a lavish oriental design. A staircase leading upstairs lies at the back of the foyer. By the time Ayumi walks in, she already hears a greeting voice.

"Ayu-kun!"

Ayumi sees someone and waves. "Hi, mommy!"

A woman comes down the stairs to greet Ayumi. This woman looks like she's in her forties; her blue hair extends to her lower legs, and her eyes show kindness; they too, are the same color. Her hair parts from the center of her face, and two thick strands go over her ears and extend to her chest. She's currently dressed in a white sweater and a long floral skirt that extends to her ankles. She holds a cheerful expression on her face.

"That wasn't long, Ayumi." The woman says.

"Well, you should know how I work." Ayumi replies. "So, you want to see her, now?"

"You should know the answer to that." The woman answers.

"Okay." Ayumi responds. She runs out to the front door and calls out. "All right, guys! You can come in, now!" Ayumi quickly runs back to the woman. After a few seconds, she sees a group of people enter the foyer, taking their shoes off before they enter.

"Oh, my God!" The woman gasps, as she sees one girl with blue hair, tied up to a ponytail. "Shinobu!"

Shinobu looks at the woman and is surprised to see how much like herself she resembles. "Are you…" She trails off.

Just then, the woman embraces her, giving her all the warmth from her own body. "Welcome back, Shinobu."

"Thanks…Mom."

The others were looking around, taking in the wonder that is the foyer alone.

"This is a kick-ass place you got here!" Kitsune exclaims.

"I have to agree." Motoko adds. "It's not often you come across a house like this one."

The woman releases herself from Shinobu and turns to the others. "Well, make yourselves at home. Don't do anything I wouldn't."

"Now, what wouldn't she do?" Kitsune says to herself.

"This is really nice, Mrs. Maehara." Keitaro comments.

Ayumi walks over to Shinobu's mother and whispers to her ear. "I think it's time you told her the full story."

"I see." Shinobu's mother whispers back.

Ayumi stands back a couple of feet and turns to the others. "All right everyone! I want you all to come here and sit in a straight line at the center of the foyer! Mrs. Maehara wishes to talk to you!"

The Hinata tenants walk over and sit at the center in a seiza position. Shinobu's mother approaches them and sits in front, also in a seiza position. She clears her throat and looks at Shinobu.

"What do you want to talk about?" Shinobu asks."

"Now that you've grown up, I wish to tell you the full story of exactly what happened almost three years ago." Shinobu's mother answers. "I assume Ayu-kun already told you guys a little bit of the story." They all nod.

"Well, I used to fight in the last Great War, until I couldn't take it and I forced myself to resign in a small house a few miles from here." Shinobu's mother explains.

_World War II?_ Naru thinks.

"The war ended when young Shinobu was only two." Shinobu's mother continues. "And my husband and I thought it was safe, so we moved back to this house in Kyoto, where we planned to live the rest of our lives. Two years after we moved back here, I went to see a friend I haven't talked to in a while. It turned out she was married and she bore a son, named Keitaro."

The other tenants look at Keitaro.

Shinobu's mother continues. "I still remember it like it happened yesterday. When little Shinobu made that promise to him, it was so adorable. She also unconsciously put a strong protection spell on him; in hopes of maybe they'll meet again. Then, three years ago, Shinobu came home swearing up and down that they finally met again at prep school, and they would finally be together again. Alas, that's when he came."

"Who would that be?" Keitaro inquires.

"Acheron Kuznetsova. He was a western Magi who strongly disapproves of eastern/western relationships, and he attacked us because he knew that I'm a Greek magi and my husband's a Japanese man. The day he attacked us was the day Shinobu was going to take her Tokyo U prep exams. Shinobu came to our help, and it looked like she'd be able to defeat him and still make it in time to finish the prep exams, for she was a very powerful magi, but Acheron had one trick up his sleeve. Before he left, he cursed Shinobu, forcing her to age back six years. Unfortunately, I didn't know how to break the curse, so I had to take measures so we could protect her."

Motoko interjected. "So you turned to the Shinmei School?"

"Exactly." Shinobu's mother replies. "But then I heard the former master of the Shinmei School was wed and abandoned her training."

Motoko cringes a bit.

"She did tell me that there was a swordsman in training at an inn known as the Hinata Inn," Shinobu's mother continues. "So my husband and I sent little Shinobu there, with her memories confused and in a younger body. It was for her own protection. Then, Ayu-kun told me that the only way to break the curse was for her to either mature or find true love. So we had to contact my friend from earlier and ask her if Keitaro could come to the Hinata Inn and help Shinobu break the curse herself."

"So sending me to become the landlord at the Hinata was all planned out." Keitaro says, holding his chin."

"Mother," Shinobu interrupts. "I need to do something." All of a sudden, something appears out of thin air. Everyone turns to see what it is and there they recognize it from the start; it's Su's Virtual-kun. "Mother, may I show them how it happened? It would be easier for them to fully grasp the story if they saw it with their own eyes."

"How do we do that, dear Shinobu?" Her mother asks.

Shinobu turns to the tan blonde foreign girl. "Su, hook me up with the Virtual-kun, please."

Su doesn't even voice a response. Instead, she just goes straight ahead and prepares the machine. Shinobu notices the young girl doesn't even say anything, and hr face gives away a more serious expression.

To be continued.

Please review and tell me what you think.

Again, I like to give many thanks to **VoidHawk** for helping me out with this story. THANK YOU, VOIDHAWK!

* * *

Coming up next chapter… _Aqueous Regression_

With the Virtual-kun hooked on to Shinobu, the Hinata tenants witness the story first hand, and the tragedy that befell her that fateful day.

* * *

Author's Notes: 

That's it for this chapter; I hope it didn't disappoint. Right now, this fic has thirty-nine hundred and forty-eight hits, as well as ninety-four reviews. Please don't hesitate to review, as I'm aiming for one hundred!

This marks the beginning of the Kansai Arc. Thing will get a bit more serious the next few chapters.

Take note that _Negima_ took place in 2003, and Nagi Springfield got his title as the Thousand Master twenty years before, which means that it happened in 1983. Since this fic takes place in 2000, then it would mean that it happened seventeen years ago, and because Shinobu is nineteen in this story, that means the war ended when she was two. That's all an assumption, by the way.

Until next chapter, Ciao!

-GYRAX of the Dark Icon Writers


	9. Aqeous Regression

Note: I do not own Love Hina, or any other intellectual properties. They are all copyrights of their respectful owners. The rest, however, is MINE, BEE-YOTCHES!

I HIT THE BIG 100 REVIEWS! YAAAAAAHOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

**Havenoname** – That I am. And yes, **VoidHawk** needs to be writing his own fics soon.

**VoidHawk** – Thank you so much for your help. Let's spread the word!

**Drgnmastr-Alex of the Dark Icon Writers** – You won't be disappointed; that, I can assure you.

**ingrid8av** – Wow, thanks.

**NefCanuck** – I'm planning on that as we speak.

**Hotstreak RMD** – In a way, Ayumi is Shinobu's sister. She was adopted by her mother, which makes her Shinobu's adopted sister.

**Kogasgirl142** – Thank you.

**tomdj1701** – Thanks.

**de bombz** – Cliffhangers are intense, aren't they? I am dedicating the Kansai arc on Shinobu's past.

**Lee3** – The festivities have only begun, my friend. :p

**BigFics2** – I'll be sure to read it when it comes out.

**oblivionknight7** – I hear you.

* * *

GYRAX Presents… 

_Awe of She_

Chapter 9: _Aqueous Regression_

_

* * *

_  
Shinobu turns to the tan blonde foreign girl. "Su, hook me up with the Virtual-kun, please."

Su doesn't even voice a response. Instead, she just goes straight ahead and prepares the machine. Shinobu notices the young girl doesn't even say anything, and her face gives away a more serious expression.

Keitaro speaks. "Umm…Miss…"

"You can call me Aethra." Shinobu's mother replies.

"Yeah," Keitaro responds. "Where's your husband?"

"He's in our room taking a nap." She answers. Almost everyone face faults after just hearing that.

Keitaro gets up. "Nap, eh?"

"He likes to sleep." Aethra replies.

"Well, get him up. He has visitors!" Naru demands.

Shinobu's mother just laughs nervously. Then, she looks at the virtual-kun. "What do you plan on doing with that?"

"The Virtual-kun." Keitaro says. "It hooks up to your head and displays what you're thinking on a monitor. It also records what's stored in your memory banks."

"Interesting." Aethra holds her chin. "You plan on hooking that up with Shinobu?"

"That's what she wants, it seems." Keitaro answers.

"Hook me up, too." Aethra adds. "I think it would be better if I helped tell the story."

"You think so?" Keitaro replies.

"Of course I do." She says. She turns to Su, who's in an abnormally calm state. "Can you hook me up, too?"

"Sure." The tan girl replies.

(O)

Shinobu and her mother are hooked up to the Virtual-kun; they give Su the signal to turn the machine on. Su still has a calm look on her face, something that isn't supposed to be there, unless pigs are flying, or hell is already frozen over. The monitor attached to the machine lights up in a brilliant blue color as it turns on. After a few seconds, images start to appear on the screen. The others watch the monitor as if it were the movies; Kitsune even has a full bag of popcorn, God knows how she got one. They all watch in awe.

* * *

Two figures walk the halls of the prep school, heading towards one another. Fate draws them here, and sets them both on a collision course with one another. The two bump into one another, each dropping a book or two. They both pick up their respective books and walk off. One of them looks back to see who it s. The one looking back is Keitaro.

* * *

"How long ago was this?" Naru asks as they all watch the screen before them. 

"Three years." Aethra answers, hooked to the Virtual-kun. "Shinobu was only sixteen back then."

"She must have been pretty smart to go to Tokyo U prep school at her age." Motoko remarks.

"She was very talented." Aethra says, with a smile across her face. "A truly gifted child. I'm very proud of her.

* * *

Keitaro watches the other figure leave, a girl with long blue hair walks away, refusing to show her face. 

The girl doesn't even bother to look back, but she smiles, knowing that he just noticed her. This girl is Shinobu.

_I found him, Mother._ Shinobu thinks. _I finally found him!_

_

* * *

_  
"I still find this hard to believe." Naru says to herself. "How could Shinobu be his promise girl? How could she?"

* * *

"Mother, I'm home!" Shinobu exclaims in an unusually chipper tone of voice, as she walks in the house. 

"How was your day, Shinobu?" Aethra asks.

"Great, Mother!" Shinobu answers almost immediately. "I finally met him! I finally met the promised guy! Just like when I was four!"

"Really, Shinobu?" Aethra replies. "That's great to hear! Is he handsome?"

"That's a dumb question." Shinobu laughs. "What would you think?"

"This is good news." Aethra says. "I'll call Tsukiko and Natsumi up immediately! They'll be glad to hear this!" Aethra picks up the phone and dials a number.

* * *

"She was so happy back then…" Naru says. 

"It's already gotten good from the beginning." Kitsune says with a mouthful of popcorn. "I hope it gets better at the end. You know, some romance flicks end up faltering at the end."

"Kitsune!" Keitaro says. "Cut it out!"

* * *

Keitaro stands before the building; the challenges of prep school and the Tokyo U mock exams now lie before him. Cherry blossoms dance in the wind, floating in their own rhythm without a care in the world. He waits for someone; he doesn't know whom, but he feels like he needs to wait. Petals land softly on his shoulder. 

Shinobu walks towards him, with her heart pounding on her chest from the anticipation; she's about to finally come in contact with the man she made a promise to long ago. She begins to walk slowly, and approaches him ever closer, but she senses something wrong.

(O)

"What the hell is the meaning of this?" Says a man, standing in front of Aethra, and what looks like her husband.

"…Acheron…" Aethra trails off.

Acheron Kuznetsova has dead-looking blue eyes, with white hair that extends to his shoulders. His face shows an emotionless, but sinister expression, and his hair covers hi right eye. You can't see what he's wearing because he has a black cloak on. He looks dead at Aethra with fire in his eyes. "Who the hell is that with you?"

"My husband." Shinobu's mother declares. "It's my husband Kenpachi." She points to a Japanese man behind her.

Kenpachi's hair is jet black, and pushed backwards, and he wears glasses over his brown eyes. He's currently wearing a black three-piece suit.

In an instant, Acheron grabs Aethra by her kimono. "Damn you! What did I say about having any relations with an easterner?"

"I tried not to listen to you!" Aethra spits back. "If you wanted me so bad, then you should've said so!"

* * *

"Acheron didn't approve of western relationships with easterners from the beginning," Aethra says, hooked up to the Virtual-kun. "But it got worse once he found out of my marriage with Kenpachi. He always was manipulative, and he was always jealous towards others. He never admitted to ever loving me, though. He never told me he loved me, not even once. Because he never came clean with his feelings towards me, I decided instead to marry Kenpachi." 

Just then, something strikes a chord in Naru.

"You just went with the man who confessed his love towards you, then?" Keitaro asks.

"That's pretty much it in a nutshell." Shinobu's mother answers. "Kenpachi showed his love towards me and was far more open about it than Acheron was."

Naru couldn't help but stand stiff at the thought of what Aethra says. She takes a few seconds to introspect on her own feelings; feeling nerves crawl all over her skin, and throughout her body. Her muscles tense, and her head feels terrible from the frustration of having to put that back in her head.

"Naru," Keitaro asks, his eyebrows slanted creating an expression of pure concern. "Are you all right?"

Naru tries to regain her composure, but she can't shake this feeling off of her. It won't leave her alone, now that those words that escaped Aethra's mouth have finally hit her across the face, leaving a sting on her cheeks. "Rrgh. I'm fine." She tries to assure him that she's fine, but she expresses otherwise. "It's just…never mind."

* * *

Aethra holds a card high into the air and shouts. "Execute Probationary Contract for 90 Seconds! Kenpachi Maehara!" 

Suddenly, Kenpachi feels light as a feather, as if his own weight is disappearing before him. He swiftly runs towards Acheron with his right fist wound up and ready for contact. Acheron strafes to his left to avoid the punch, and then skids to a stop. He then lifts his right hand into the air.

"**Βασιλιάς των Θεών! Μου δώστε την αστραπή σας έτσι μπορώ να χτυπήσω κάτω από την αντίθεσή μου με ένα ενιαίο χειροκρότημα! ΣΥΝΤΡΙΒΗ ΒΡΟΝΤΗΣ!**" He aims his right palm at Kenpachi, and then a bolt of lightning erupts from his hand. It seems like time slows down for that moment, as Kenpachi is able to see the bolt of lightning head straight at him, but not even he has the speed to dodge it. Then a voice cries out.

"**ΣΥΝΤΡΙΒΗ ΒΡΟΝΤΗΣ!**" Another bolt of lightning suddenly appears from Kenpachi's left and collides with the other lightning bolt, which came out of Acheron's hand. This collision results in a brilliant flash of light.

* * *

The flash of light even blinds our Hinata residents for a second.

* * *

The white haired man looks to his right and sees Aethra with her right arm extended and her palm open. The woman seems to be breathing hard, as if she's exhausted. He notices her weakness and approaches her quickly. "You've softened up, Aethra." A grin crosses his face. "Just one spell has already exhausted you. You should've done some exercises to keep you magical abilities at top form." He raises his right hand up again. "Now, you'll pay a high price." 

Suddenly, Kenpachi aims for another punch, but Acheron sees this coming and prepares for another spell.

"**ΣΤΥΛΟΒΆΤΕZ ΤΗΣ ΠΕΤΡΑΣ!**" Acheron slams his right hand on the ground, and in an instant, stone pillars surround him, thwarting any attempt by Kenpachi to land a hit. Acheron then jumps up and lands behind Aethra, with his hands on her throat. Kenpachi stops in an instant, knowing that one move will mean the death of his wife.

* * *

"Why that little!" Kitsune shouts out. 

"Calm down," Keitaro says.

"I have softened up ever since I moved back here after the war." Aethra says. "I haven't done any magical training because I felt there wasn't a need to. I did some training with Kenpachi on the basics of combat and the probationary contract, but this was his first experience. Things didn't go so well. I was already forced to use my trump card."

"Trump card?" Keitaro asks.

* * *

Aethra closes her eyes and holds her breath. _Please help us!_

(O)

Shinobu freezes for a moment. She thinks that she heard something. She brushes it off for a moment and continues approaching Keitaro, who is standing in front of the prep school. Then she hears it again.

_Shinobu! Help us!_ There's the message again. Suddenly, images of her mother being held by her neck by a sinister figure run through her mind. Shinobu stops walking and looks back. She feels distressed, now. She's so close to finally meeting her promised man, but her mother's in trouble. She already can't take the pressure. She'll have to do something, and quick. Perhaps, if she saves her mother in time, she could still meet with her promise man. Not as if her mother's safety isn't a priority, it's that she's so close to her dream, only to see that she's needed to save the household from a madman.

_I'm coming, mother._ Shinobu makes her decision. Suddenly, a gust of wind blows through the morning air, and before you know it, she vanishes.

A sudden unusual gust of wind that blew from Keitaro's left. And cherry blossoms fall on his shoulders, as if they're telling him something bad might have happened. He turns his head to his left, but sees no one. He only wonders what's going on.

(O)

Acheron feels a presence behind him, but before he could react, someone punches him clear across the face, sending him spiraling towards the ground. The white haired man gets up and looks behind him, only to see a girl who looks to be sixteen, right behind him. "Who the hell…"

"Shinobu!" Aethra exclaims. "You came. I'm so sorry I had to call you."

"It's all right mother." Shinobu says in response. "If I can finish this quickly enough, I can still enter for the Tokyo U mock exams."

"You sure about that?" Shinobu's mother asks.

"I'll try my best, Mom." Shinobu answers. She looks dead at Acheron, who at this point, is in a state of pure rage.

"You mean to tell me you're her DAUGHTER?" Acheron asks with hostility in his voice.

"Yes." Shinobu answers.

Acheron looks at Aethra, then Kenpachi, and then he looks back at Aethra. "Not only did you marry a Japanese man, but you also have his kid!" Acheron charges at them both, only to be intercepted by Shinobu, who quickly puts her hand on his chest, and sends a huge burst of energy to his body, sending him crashing a good distance. The white haired man gets up and looks at Shinobu again.

* * *

"Ayumi helped me out with training Shinobu." Aethra says. "Ayumi herself went through some rigorous magi training herself by a friend of mine. She then passed down her skills to Shinobu and I passed down mine. The end result is that Shinobu turned out to be a very strong magi herself." 

"Why isn't Ayumi there to help you?" Motoko asks.

"This was also the same day that Ayumi had to go to Okinawa to inform Natsumi of the good news, seeing as she never returned my calls."

"So she couldn't help out?" Motoko asks.

"We couldn't contact her." Shinobu's mother answers.

* * *

"**ΣΥΝΤΡΙΒΗ ΒΡΟΝΤΗΣ!**" Lightning bolts out of Acheron's hand; Shinobu sees this coming and raises her right hand. 

"**ΑΣΠΙΔΑ ΤΗΣ ΓΗΣ ΜΗΤΕΡΩΝ!**" All of a sudden, a rock dome forms around Shinobu, protecting her just before the bolt of lightning strikes. Even after the bolt hits her rock dome, it remains unscratched. From inside the dome, you could hear Shinobu's voice shout out, "**ΕΞΟΠΛΙΣΜΟΣ ΤΗΣ ΓΗΣ ΜΗΤΕΡΩΝ**!" Just then, the dome breaks into chunks. Those chunks suddenly soar straight towards Acheron. A few of the chunks hit Acheron dead on. One of them snaps the bones of his lower left leg in half.

"NGH!" Acheron falls on the ground, unable to walk, now that one of his legs is broken.

* * *

"Wow! Shinobu really did it." Kitsune says. 

"So we thought." Aethra replies, hooked to the Virtual-kun.

* * *

"Damn!" Acheron grunts. "What the hell was I thinking? I was reckless to fight someone who knew stone magic!" He struggles to get up, but to no avail. A sharp pain in his leg lands another crippling blow to him, forcing him to fall over on his right knee. Shinobu approaches him, with some traces of concern in her face, probably feeling a bit like she might have overdid it. 

Aethra takes a few seconds to regain her composure, with assistance from Kenpachi. Then, she looks over, and they both see Shinobu approach the man.

"Shinobu! Wait!" Aethra shouts out. When Shinobu turns to see her, Acheron suddenly takes flight. The man suddenly then throws both of his arms at Shinobu's direction and screams out loud.

"**Αυτή σφραγίδων μαγική μακριά στα όρια του μυαλού της με τη βοήθεια της επιστροφής της ηλικίας της! Πάρτε μαζί την απειλή που είναι η δύναμή της! Την καταστήστε νεώτερη! ΧΡΟΝΟΛΟΓΙΚΗ ΟΠΙΣΘΟΔΡΟΜΗΣΗ!**"

Shinobu suddenly feels a sensation caressing all over her body as a violet light engulfs her. She starts to feel a weird feeling deep inside all of her muscles as she takes witness to seeing all of her limbs shrink. She panics, but to no avail, as the flailing and screaming only seems make things worse. Then, a brilliant light flashes before her.

* * *

The flash of light even blinds our Hinata residents for a second. After the light fades away, they all watch the monitor to see what happens next. What they see next would shock them to a whole new level.

* * *

Four children are playing in a sandbox. Two of them are building what seems to be a little sandcastle in the middle of the sandbox. One's a small boy who seems to be five, and another is a small girl who also seems to be five. A smaller girl who looks like she's almost three sits not too far from the older girl, and a girl who looks like she's four sits next to the boy. The four-year-old has blue hair extending to her back. She approaches the small boy. 

"There's a fairy tale," The blue-haired girl says. "That if two people go to Tokyo U together, they'll live happily ever after."

"Really?" The boy asks.

"Mmm-hmm." The girl replies. "How about we make a promise…to go to Tokyo U together…"

Her voice echoes through the air as everything goes white again.

* * *

The others look on with complete shock after they just saw the drama unfold before them. On the screen they see images of a younger Shinobu lying on the floor, with Aethra rushing to her aid. They're all completely speechless as they continue watching it all before them. 

Naru looks at the floor, unable to say anything after watching that. How could she not have remembered Shinobu sitting there next to her, Mutsumi, and Keitaro in that sandbox one fateful day? How could she not recall that? All she could do is fall on her knees as an expression of pure astonishment. What is this girl that is Naru to do, now?

To be continued.

Please review and tell me what you think.

I would like to give thanks to **VoidHawk** for helping me out with the story. The idea behind Shinobu's past and her being the promise girl is entirely his. I'll reveal more of this past in the next chapter. Thank you, **VoidHawk**!

* * *

Coming up next chapter… _She's Quite the Puzzle_

Naru can't decide whether or not to believe the story that unfolded before her, and just let Keitaro go. She begins to act weird, and it all goes to hell when she finally snaps and goes crazy from her own indecisiveness.

The next chapter will have Naru bashing in it. ARE YOU HAPPY, NOW?

* * *

Author's Notes: 

That's it for this chapter; I hope it didn't disappoint. Right now, this fic has more than forty-nine hundred hits, as well as one hundred and seven reviews. It's on the favorites list of twenty people, and the alert list of nineteen.

Acheron's first spell, "Βασιλιάς των Θεών! Μου δώστε την αστραπή σας έτσι μπορώ να χτυπήσω κάτω από την αντίθεσή μου με ένα ενιαίο χειροκρότημα! ΣΥΝΤΡΙΒΗ ΒΡΟΝΤΗΣ", when decoded to the English alphabet, says "Basiliaz ton Teon! Mou doste ten astrape saz etsi mporo na xiupeso ten antithese mou me ena eniaio xierokrotema! SUNTRIBE BRONTES", which means "King of the Gods! Give me your lightning so I may strike down my opposition with a single clap! THUNDER CRASH". This is basically him shooting a lightning bolt out of his hands.

His next spell, "ΣΤΥΛΟΒΆΤΕZ ΤΗΣ ΠΕΤΡΑΣ", when decoded to the English alphabet, says "STULOBATEZ TES PETRAS", which means "PILLARS OF STONE". This spell creates pillars around the man, shielding him from attack from all angles.

His next spell, "Αυτή σφραγίδων μαγική μακριά στα όρια του μυαλού της με τη βοήθεια της επιστροφής της ηλικίας της! Πάρτε μαζί την απειλή που είναι η δύναμή της! Την καταστήστε νεώτερη! ΧΡΟΝΟΛΟΓΙΚΗ ΟΠΙΣΘΟΔΡΟΜΗΣΗ!", when decoded to the English alphabet, says "Aute spsragidon magike makria sta opia tou mualou tez me te boetheia tez epistropsez tez elikiaz tez! Parte mazi ten apeile pou eivaie e douname tez! Tez katasteste neotere! XRONOLOGIKE OPISTHODROMESE!" which means "Seal this one's magic away by means of reverting her age! Take away the threat that is her power1 Make her younger! CHRONOLIGICAL REGRESSION!" This is the curse that Acheron used to make Shinobu age six years.

Again, I had to go through a lot of crap to convert the Greek letters to English ones. As for the Greek phrases themselves, I used a WorldLingo machine translator to translate an English sentence that sounded like a good spell invocation to me to Greek, so it may not be completely accurate.

Until next chapter, Ciao!

-GYRAX of the Dark Icon Writers


	10. She’s Quite the Puzzle

Note: I do not own Love Hina, or any other intellectual properties. They are all copyrights of their respectful owners. The rest, however, is MINE, BEE-YOTCHES!

More than 6100 hits! HUZZAH!

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**oblivionknight7** – Patience is virtue, my friend.

* * *

Four children are playing in a sandbox. Two of them are building what seems to be a little sandcastle in the middle of the sandbox. One's a small boy who seems to be five, and another is a small girl who also seems to be five. A smaller girl who looks like she's almost three sits not too far from the older girl, and a girl who looks like she's four sits next to the boy. The four-year-old has blue hair extending to her back. She approaches the small boy. 

"There's a fairy tale," The blue-haired girl says. "That if two people go to Tokyo U together, they'll live happily ever after."

"Really?" The boy asks.

"Mmm-hmm." The girl replies. "How about we make a promise…to go to Tokyo U together…"

Her voice echoes through the air as everything goes white again.

* * *

GYRAX Presents… 

_Awe of She_

Chapter 10: _She's Quite the Puzzle_

_

* * *

_Naru could hardly believe what she saw that time. How did that little blue-haired girl get there? How could she not remember her? How do they know it was her who made the promise? Questions run about her head like unruly hyperactive children who have nothing better to do. What is she to do, now?

Su and Shinobu finish unpacking the Virtual-kun as the others explore the rest of the house. Naru still sits there, thinking about all the events that took place, everything that happened within the confines of the Virtual-kun's screen. To the rest of the world, she seems motionless, sitting there like a marble statue that was put down on the floor because the owner was rearranging the room.

Ayumi notices her in her motionless state and walks over to her to take a look. She looks around and figures that she's in some kind of vegetable state. She waves her hand in front of her in hopes to get an answer, but she gets nothing in return. She then starts to poke her, but still nothing. Then she pulls her hair, but that doesn't work, either. She stands in front of her and just looks at her in the face. "You gave me no choice, little one." Ayumi says, with the smile in her face growing bigger. She takes out a paper bag from seemingly nowhere and blows into it. After a minute of blowing, she takes out a large pin and jams it right into the bag.

**POP!**

"WAAAAAAAAAAH!" Naru jumps to the ceiling, her head crashing right into it. She doesn't fall back down on the floor. In fact, her head is now stuck in the ceiling.

Kitsune comes in and sees Naru stuck in the ceiling. "Hey, Naru. Watcha doin' up there?"

"Gee, I don't know." Naru says. "You tell me."

"Looks like you're having a hell of a time up there." Kitsune responds. "I'll get you down." Kitsune reaches for Naru's feet. Ayumi grabs them too, and they both pull. Eventually, they pull her down, and she crashes right into the floor. Naru gets up and rubs her head.

Ayumi just laughs. "That was fun." She turns to Aethra, who just watched the whole thing unfold. "Well, I'm going off to the Konoes' place. I want to have a chat with Eishun and little Konoka."

"Well," Aethra replies. "Ok, see you later."

"Okay!" Ayumi waves and runs out of the house.

Keitaro hears a rustling noise and looks around. He notices a duffle bag violently shuffling. "What's that doing there?"

"That must be Ayumi's." Shinobu replies as she approaches the bag. She then unzips it, and out of nowhere, a lizard comes flying out of the bag and into the floor.

"WAAAGH!" Shinobu cries out.

Keitaro goes over to investigate. He sees Beardie lying on the floor, dizzy. "Oh, it's Beardie."

Suddenly, he springs to life. "Ayumi! Where on Earth did you go?"

"She went out." Aethra answers. "Ayumi went to Konoe-san's house."

"The gall she had, putting me in a bag and forgetting to unzip it!" The lizard says. "Well, I'm off to the Konoes', too."

"See you later, then." Aethra replies. Beardie leaves.

"This house has its own hot springs." Kitsune says to Naru. "Maybe we can go and wash those troubles of your away, huh?"

"I guess." Naru complies. The two of them leave. Naru looks back at Keitaro. "Don't do anything stupid, got it?" They both leave the foyer.

"What does she mean by that?" Aethra asks.

"Don't want to talk about it." Keitaro answers.

(O)

"This feels good." Naru sighs, relaxing in a hot springs located in the house's backyard. "Good find, Kitsune."

"Thanks, Naru." Kitsune replies. "I found it when I was looking for a secret stash of sake the Maeharas might have. Did I say that out loud?" She desperately tries to change the subject, so she looks at Su. "Hey, Su! Makes you wish Sarah was here, doesn't it?"

"Good thing I brought Robo-Sarah!" Su exclaims. Suddenly, a robotic Sarah comes out of nowhere repeatedly saying, "Kekekekekekeke."

"…" Naru just sits there, silent. Despite her sitting right there in the bath, she still can't get those thoughts out of her mind.

"Now, what's up?" Kitsune says, approaching Naru.

"…" Naru could only respond with silence.

"Hey, Naru?" Kitsune says. "You there? Anybody home in there?" She knocks on her head, hoping for an answer.

"Will you cut it out?" Naru responds.

"Well," Kitsune replies. "At least it got an answer out of you. What's wrong? It can't be about what you seen on the Virtual-kun, can it?"

"You read me like a map." Naru replies. "Am I that obvious?"

"Sure, you are." The fox answers. "It's written all over your face."

"Oh…" Naru says in reply. "It's about the scene where that girl made the promise." She pauses for a moment, Kitsune nodding her head for her to continue. "The thing I like to know is how come I don't remember that?"

"You might not have remembered it very well." Kitsune answers.

"I do remember it," Naru replies. "But I don't ever recall a blue-haired girl there with Mu-chan and Kei-kun. I don't remember that girl at all. I'm beginning think that maybe they just made that up from their heads and called it a memory."

"Didn't look like it to me." Motoko interrupts. "Wasn't the Virtual-kun set up to record everything from only their memory banks?"

"That's how it was set up." Su answers.

"You think there could be a glitch in the system?" Naru asks.

"No." Su responds. "I triple-checked the operating system and the hard drive. I couldn't find a single defect in the entire system."

"Somehow, I don't really believe all of this." Naru says. "I don't believe a single thing about Shinobu being the promise girl at all. Didn't the girl have brown hair?"

"I don't know." Motoko answers. "I wasn't even there. That's obviously something you should remember."

"…" Naru only replies in silence. She stands up.

"Uh-oh!" Su cries out. "Robo-Sarah has a few kinks!"

"Kekekekekekekeke!" Robo-Sarah reiterates as she shoots a laser out of her eyes, zap-frying Naru to a crisp.

"Oops. Sorry about that." Su apologizes. "Guess I need to work a few glitches in the system."

"I can't take this." Naru says. "I'm going to get changed. Then, I'm going to leave." She does.

"Something's not right here." Motoko says. "Naru's been acting weird ever since we came to this house. It got even worse when we had the Virtual-kun set up. It's as if Naru is trying to shield herself from something. I'll have to talk to her."

"Best to leave her alone for a while." Kitsune replies. "That look in here eyes says she wants some solitude."

"Guess I should agree with you on that." Motoko answers. "You know Naru better than any of us here." She sighs.

(O)

Ayumi takes in the sight that is the Kansai Magic Association's Head Temple as she stands in front of the building's façade. After a moment of looking, she walks in the building. Once she gets into the foyer, she takes her shoes off and greets the various servants aligned at the foyer. The then turns her head forward and shouts. "Konoe-san! I'm here!"

It takes a few seconds until a figure walks down the steps in front of her and reveals himself. A black-haired man seemingly in his late thirties/early forties comes down the steps and approaches Ayumi. Accompanying him is a small child, a girl with dark brown hair that extends to her lower back, and brown eyes to match.

"Hey, Eishun!" Ayumi greets.

"Ayu-kun, welcome." Eishun Konoe replies. "What brings you here?"

"Just want to chat." Ayumi answers. She looks at the little girl next to him. "Hey there, Konoka-chan. What's up?"

"Yesterday, I learned how to make shrimp scampi." Little Konoka replied.

"That's cute, Hun." Ayumi replies. She looks back at Eishun. "I'm glad to see Shinobu's back to normal."

"Is that true?" The man asks her.

"Yup." Ayumi answers. "She's at our place, right now."

"Good to hear, Ayu-kun." Eishun replies.

"She and Keitaro make the greatest couple." Ayumi says, her smile getting wider. "You just gotta see them together."

"Something tells me you came here for even more than that." Eishun states.

"Really?" Ayumi asks.

"What is it that you really wanted to talk about?" Eishun asks back.

"Ok," Ayumi replies. "I'll ask."

(O)

"You want to wake Kenpachi?" Aethra asks.

"Yeah." Keitaro answers. "He at least needs to know that there are visitors here."

"He's hard to wake up, though." Aethra replies. "But we can always try." She leaves the foyer. Keitaro and Shinobu follow her. As they walk down the hallways, Naru suddenly bumps into Shinobu, her head nicely planted on her breasts. Without second thought, Shinobu freaks.

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Shinobu screams, as she gears her fists and socks Naru clear in the face. She violently bumps onto a few walls and skids right back into the hot springs. This alarms Motoko, Kitsune, and Su, who are still bathing. Thinking it's a pervert; Motoko gears her sword for attack. Su gets Robo-Sarah ready.

"Robo-Sarah!" Su cries out. "Fire Anti-Pervert Beam Cannon!"

"Kekekekeke!" Robo-Sarah cries out, as she fires lasers from her eyes, frying Naru to a crisp again. Motoko takes the opportunity to lay in a smack down of her own.

"ROCK SPLITTING SWORD!" With one swipe, Motoko unleashes a massive ki attack, sending Naru straight out of the house. Everyone watches as Naru takes flight over Kyoto.

"The poor girl." Aethra says. "She has a hawk's luck."

"Actually, that's supposed to be MY luck." Keitaro replies. "What the hell happened?"

"I hope she's all right." Shinobu adds.

(O)

Naru now lies on the foyer floor with bandages wrapped around her head. The others gather around to see if she's ok.

"You think we did her in?" Motoko asks.

"Hope not." Shinobu answers. "Aaaaaaaaauuuuuuuuuuu! This is all my fault!"

"It was just a bad reflex, Shinobu." Keitaro answers. "And she'll be all right."

Just after that, Naru springs back to life. She stands up and looks around, seeing everyone around her. "What happened?"

"I think you contracted my luck, Naru." Keitaro answers. "Sorry about that."

"WHY ME!" Naru screams. "WHY DO I HAVE TO HAVE YOUR LUCK NOW! IT'S A GODDAMN EPIDEMIC!" She attempts another punch, but she misses and trips on her own two feet. She falls right back on the floor. The others look at her twitching body.

"You all right?" Keitaro says.

"That's a dumb question!" Naru answers. "Of course I'm not all right! Just leave me alone!"

"I'm just trying to help out." Keitaro replies.

"Well, you're doing a terrible job!" Naru spits back.

"Don't be so sour, Naru!" Shinobu interrupts.

"And you stop defending Keitaro like you're his own personal bitch!" Naru spits back.

"This is my house and you treat us all here with respect, GOT IT!"

Naru pauses for a second. Then she sighs. "Sorry about that, Shinobu." She turns to Aethra. "You have a guest bedroom I can use. I need a nap."

"Sure," Aethra complies. "I'll show you around."

"Oh, that's right." Keitaro says. "We still need to wake up Kenpachi."

Aethra only sweat drops. "Heh-heh. Yeah, I guess so. I'll take you to his room once I'm done showing your friend around."

(O)

Hours pass and it becomes early evening. Ayumi comes back to the Maehara residence with Beardie pinching her right cheek.

"Oww! Will you let me go now?" Ayumi pouts. "We're here already."

"Well," The lizard replies. "That's what you get for keeping me in that bag of yours."

"I'm sorry. I forgot, all right?" Ayumi replies.

Beardie lets go of her. "Now, don't try that again, Ayu-kun."

"Ok, I won't." Ayumi replies. "It's too bad Eishun couldn't provide much info. I guess we're back at square one."

"That's true." Beardie agrees. "Now, we'll have to bring the news to Aethra. Where is she, by the way?"

"Don't ask me." Ayumi replies. "Let's just look for her." They leave the foyer and walk up the steps. It's not too long before they find Shinobu's mother walking the hallways. They approach her.

"Hiya!" Ayumi greets.

"Ayumi, you're back." Aethra replies. "It took you a while."

"Well, I got too carried away talking to Eishun." Ayumi rubs the back of her head. "Too bad he didn't know a thing about Acheron's whereabouts."

"That's ok." Aethra replies.

"I found this killer spot for Shinobu's date tomorrow!" Ayumi changes the subject on the fly. "It's a happening new restaurant near the Cinema Village. They'll absolutely love it!" She smiles.

"Why not?" Shinobu's mother says. "This'll be nice, a reminder of what my love life was like."

"You're lucky." Ayumi replies. "Your love was straight out of a romance novel. Not many girls get to have one."

"That's because their expectations are too high." Aethra replies. "You think putting Keitaro in her room with her was a good idea, though?"

"Of course I do." Ayumi answers. "I think it's about time they start getting intimate anyway." Ayumi giggles, as her cheeks turn pink. She and Aethra walk down the hallways, conversing. What they don't know, however, is that Naru overheard the conversation from a guest room she just happens to be using.

"Did I hear that right?" Naru asks herself. "She and Keitaro…sleeping together?" She thinks it over for a second. "I can't allow that. I can't have them doing that on my watch. Of course Shinobu wouldn't do something that depraved, would she? Why do I even care?" Her heart begins to start pounding her chest. Her eyes grow wide as she starts feeling a bit woozy. "What the hell is wrong with me, now? What is my problem? Why should I even care? Why do I feel like this?"

Naru can't shake the feeling off, no matter how hard she tries, but she isn't trying too hard to get it off, even if she may despise Keitaro. Does she even like him, or does she not? Two different sides of her are pulling her, and as they pull, they get closer and closer to tearing her mind in half. Will she choose one side or the other, or will she just let them rip her in two. She is quite the puzzle.

To be continued.

Please review and tell me what you think.

* * *

Coming up next chapter… 

_She's a Jigsaw who Needs to be Solved_

Shinobu and Keitaro go out on a real date at Kyoto, except everyone else goes spying from a distance. Things don't go as planned when Naru gets dragged into the fray. Every second of her watching the date makes her less and less stable, and it won't be long until she finally goes haywire. Does she really love Keitaro that much, or is it something else?

* * *

Not exactly the most phenomenal chapter, but I had to get it done for the fans. God, it's been a while since I ever updated any fan fictions, but my writer's block is finally gone. HUZZAH! 

Until next chapter, Ciao!

-GYRAX of the Dark Icon Writers


	11. She's a Jigsaw who Needs to be Solved

Note: I do not own Love Hina, or any other intellectual properties. They are all copyrights of their respectful owners. The rest, however, is MINE, BEE-YOTCHES!

**Rayne Sarazaki** – Censorship...

**Zero Dragonknight** – Like I said before, I'm glad I made a good first impression.

**VoidHawk** – All is good here, my friend.

**that man** – I don't plan on stopping now, not after how far I got.

**Hotstreak RMD** – Acheron will return; that's all I can say. Such is the case with all anime.

**Baretta** – I'm glad you will.

**Havenoname** – Oh my.

**Lee3** – That's an interesting fact you have, my friend.

**Kogasgirl142** – Peace to you, too.

**de bombz** – Yup.

**tomdj1701** – Thanks.

**Drgnmastr-Alex** – That's cool. Just keep in mind that the Narubashing's become rampant here. Look at the numbers. If you read this, can you tell me about all the Tokyo U exams by the individual exam's name, the date each one is taken, and the overall description of the exam and the relevance it holds to entering Tokyo U. If not, then I'll ask the other readers. I don't know a thing about the Tokyo U exams and I really need to if I expect to continue this story, because as it stands, the fic right now is still taking place in August.

**NefCanuck** – And you'll know soon enough.

**BigFics2** – I appreciate the response.

**oblivionknight7** – I don't really go there. :p

**bluezone777 of the Dark Icon Writers** – That's ok. You did come around and review that chapter, right?

* * *

GYRAX Presents… 

_Awe of She_

Chapter 11: _She's a Jigsaw who Needs to be Solved_

_

* * *

_  
Kitsune opens the door and sneaks in unnoticed.

She creeps across Naru's room with a megaphone in her right hand, and she looks like she's going to use it. She takes a couple of minutes to silently and carefully walk up to the sleeping woman and she slowly put the megaphone in front of her face. Sweat runs down her forehead, as the fox gets ready for the kill.

"**WAKE UP, NARU!**"

The sudden angry burst of sound throws Naru off her futon, as if the mattress has a mind of its own. Naru crash lands on the ground, and her face serves as the emergency landing gear. She now lies there, motionless…

Now Kitsune is beginning to think that maybe she's overdone it a bit. She goes over to check up on her, to see if there are any vital signs. By the time she gets over to her, a foot lands right on her face, sending her out of the room. Naru handsprings back to life, and then she takes a second to glare at the fox that now lies twitching outside her room.

"AND DON'T EVER DO THAT AGAIN!" Naru shouts at the top of her lungs. Though who would blame her for such a reaction? She was hit in the ear by a sonic boom as a means of some twisted form of a wake up call. She stomps with all her might into the bathroom with her clothes in her right hand.

Kitsune recovers and takes a look at the angry teething beast that is seemingly rampaging her way to the nearest restroom. "DAYAMN! I was just playing around! Now, I need to make a mental note to myself never to try that again." Kitsune sits on the floor and inputs that piece of self-advice into her brain. That's more information put in for the better.

(O)

"The nerve of Kitsune!" Naru complains. "I can't believe she had the gall to try that on me. Who the hell does she think I am?" She pauses for a second as something hits her in the head, seemingly paralyzing her. "Come to think of it, ever since Shinobu grew up, my life was a living hell. It was as if the moment she transformed that the world was turned against me."

Naru pauses again. She takes this time to put her shirt on. "It's like she put a spell on me the instant she changed so that I would have Keitaro's luck, so that I would be in his shoes-" Quickly, she cuts herself off, to think about what she said. The last few words reverberate in the narrow caverns that are the confines of her mind. With each echo, Naru begins to realize more and more about something, something she forgot a while ago.

"… So I would know how Keitaro feels." She freezes in her tracks, except for her head, which inside seems to be running even more frantically than before. This doesn't last long, as she reverts back to her normal self faster than a speeding bullet. "At least he deserves what he gets. And why would Shinobu even accept him? What did that perv do to deserve her? And why the hell do I feel like this? Part of me just wants to break them up, but the other doesn't. Am I jealous? I certainly can't be. I mean, why would I give a damn about that lecher, anyway? But still, I feel sick. Maybe that's the problem. Maybe I'm just sick and need to rest." She nods her head, agreeing with herself on this answer as she puts her skirt on. "That's it. I'll just go back to bed."

"GET THESE THOUGHTS OUT OF MY HEAD!" Cries a female voice, the voice getting louder and louder as it nears Naru. She couldn't help but to look outside and check on what's happening. Motoko happens to be approaching her, and before you know it, they crash into one another.

They both end up on the floor, rubbing their heads in attempt to make their bumps feel better. Naru couldn't help but wonder what is up with Motoko today.

"Something wrong?" Naru inquires.

"Ah…Nothing." Motoko replies. It isn't much of an answer for Naru.

"You were yelling something about thoughts." Naru replies.

"It's nothing," Motoko responds. "Really."

"Just be careful when running around the halls, ok?" Naru tells her.

"There you are." Kitsune says. She approaches the two, accompanied by a pretty amused Ayumi. Kitsune walks over to Naru, as she and Motoko stand back up. "What's up?"

"Another run of bad karma." Naru answers.

"Sorry to hear it." Kitsune replies. "Anyway, Ayumi said that Keitaro and Shinobu are already on a date at Cinema Village, and she wants to takes us along for the ride. You wannna come?"

Naru looks at her. "That would be spying on them-"

"Let's go, then!" Kitsune exclaims. After the two leave, chuckling their pretty faces off, Naru and Motoko sigh, irritation escaping in their breath.

Just after Kitsune and Ayumi leave into the foyer, they freeze in their tracks and look at one another. Then they turn back behind them and run back to the hallways. The foyer is now filled with silence; you could practically hear a pin drop in the room now, but it doesn't last long. The silence is quickly broken by two screaming voices. Kitsune and Ayumi come back into the foyer dragging Naru and Motoko, the two helpless girls screaming and struggling to break free but to no avail. Kitsune has Naru's feet in her grasp, and Ayumi has Motoko's. The two women dragging them smile as they have their little victims right where they want them.

Kitsune calls out. "Hey Su! We're leaving!"

"We're going to the cinema village!" Ayumi follows. "You want to come? We even have front row center to Kei-kun's date!"

"Coming!" Su exclaims. She comes jumping down the steps and into the foyer. "I'm all set to go!"

"Good to hear, my friend." Ayumi replies. She points towards the outside. "Onwards, to the date!" She and Kitsune continue dragging the screaming girls outside.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Naru screams. "NOT THE DATE! DON'T YOU GUYS HAVE ANY RESPECT FOR ANYONE'S PRIVACY?"

"WHAT IN GOD'S NAME IS YOUR PROBLEM?" Motoko shouts.

"Don't bother." Ayumi smiles. "You won't get the logic. Just flow with the traffic."

"TO THE DATE!" Su exclaims with utmost enthusiasm. And with that, they all head outside.

(O)

"Can I talk to you about something, Sempai?" Shinobu asks her new ronin boyfriend, as the two of them stand at a wooden arch bridge, looking onwards to the creek they stand above.

"Sure," Keitaro replies. "What is it?"

"It's about Naru-sempai." Shinobu answers. "What's wrong with her?"

"I really don't know." Keitaro answers. "The poor girl had a run of very bad luck ever since you got older."

"Maybe I put a curse on her or something." Shinobu replies. "Maybe when I got angry at her, I accidentally put some kind of spell on her. At the same time, your luck is getting significantly better."

"You think you put a spell on me, too?" Keitaro says. "To protect me?"

"Maybe." The bluenette answers. "Maybe I put a spell on you to make your luck better. I really don't know, but that's all I could come up with. I'll have to talk to Dr. Ikeda about it."

"Remember what she said about that protect spell you put on me when we first met, the one that supposedly made me clumsy and terrible with women?" Keitaro asks. "Maybe that spell is starting to wear off now that we're here."

"Maybe that same spell might have been accidentally cast on Naru-sempai." Shinobu answers. "And now she's become really clumsy, and her luck has gone terrible, just like yours was."

"Either that," Keitaro replies. "Or it just happened at random because fate was tired of playing around with me."

"Who knows?" Shinobu says in response. "But this is a date, remember? We shouldn't waste the day running our mouths about this."

"I suppose so." Keitaro complies. "Now, where do we go next?"

"Dr. Ikeda told me about this new restaurant down the street." Shinobu answers. "They have thirty different lobster dishes there."

"Lead me to it." Keitaro replies. And with that, Shinobu literally drags him towards the streets. Not too far behind are Ayumi and the others. Naru and Motoko have duct tape over their mouths, and Kitsune is having a jolly old time carrying their helpless bodies. She, as well as Ayumi and Su, appear to be dressed as ninjas, and are following our lovebirds in the said fashion.

(O)

"Sorry, but you'll have to wait for at least a half an hour before we have a table ready for you." Says a hostess, apologizing to Keitaro and Shinobu.

"That's cool." Keitaro replies. "It's a Saturday, right?" He turns to Shinobu, who stands next to him, holding his right hand with her left. "You okay with that, Shinobu?"

"Yeah." The young woman replies. "Let's find a bench, Sempai." Shinobu takes Keitaro by the hands and drags him away.

(O)

The rest of the crew watches from the outside, Ayumi and Kitsune having the time of their lives, and Su eating a banana from the bunch she bought at the cinema Village. Naru and Motoko are untied at the moment, but that doesn't mean they're free; Ayumi is there to make sure they don't run, so basically the two women have to watch the date before them now. The good doctor is quite a forceful character.

"What do you suppose is going on here?" Kitsune asks.

"Hold on," Ayumi answers. She heads out towards another bush on the other side of the doorway to the restaurant. The others follow her, not asking a single question, but that doesn't mean they know what she's up to. Ayumi stops at the other bush and sees Keitaro and Shinobu through another window. After Kitsune and the others approach her, she turns to them with a sly grin in her face.

"What are you up to, Ayumi?" Kitsune asks playfully.

"Check this out," Ayumi answers. "I can read their minds from a distance. If you want, I can tell you guys exactly what they're thinking.

"You can do that?" Naru inquires.

"Yep." Ayumi replies. "It's basic magic, really. Observe."

"You can't do that!" Naru suddenly shouts out.

"What's the matter, Hun?" Ayumi responds.

"Like I want to know what that pervert is thinking!" Naru answers.

"I don't want any more disturbing thoughts in my head, either." Motoko adds.

"Count us in!" Kitsune and Su shout with utmost enthusiasm.

"Okay, I'll do it." Ayumi smiles. "That's three to two saying that I should do it."

"But it's a tie!" Naru protests. "Two said yes and two said no!"

"But you didn't count in MY vote." Ayumi replies. And with that, Naru and Motoko sigh in defeat. Those three are just hopeless, aren't they?

(O)

Ayumi's duffel bag lies on the floor of the foyer, sitting there motionless, waiting for its owner to return; one thing that seems odd here, is that the bag's zipper appears to be opening itself up. A closer look confirms that it IS opening itself. After the bag is completely open, Beardie suddenly pops out of nowhere. It turns out that it was Beardie who opened the zipper from the inside, quite a difficult task one may say. He hurries out of the bag, his nostrils letting off steam like nobody's business.

"DAMMIT, AYU-KUN!" Beardie shouts out. The steam is practically his rage. "I TOLD YOU A MILLION TIMES NOT TO LEAVE ME IN THAT GOD-FORSAKEN DUFFLE BAG!" He looks around to see that no one is around, except for Aethra and Kenpachi, who heard the shouting a few seconds ago.

"Ayumi went outside with our visitors." Shinobu's mother replies.

"Figures." Beardie sighs. He scuttles outside on a search for his partner.

(O)

"Here we go." Ayumi says. He puts her right index and middle fingers on her right temple and points her left ones towards Keitaro and Shinobu. She's obviously attempting to read both their minds.

"Everyone be quiet, now." Kitsune whispers. "Ayumi needs absolute concentration."

Ayumi closes her eyes after everyone falls silent. Naru and Motoko would be shouting with all their might, but their mouths are covered in duct tape, and Motoko most likely has higher standards than that.

(O)

"Finally," Keitaro sighs. "We have a seat."

"What do you want, Sempai?" Shinobu asks.

"I don't know." Keitaro answers. "Probably something cheap; I'm on a fixed budget."

"I doubt we'll find anything cheap here." Shinobu replies. "We chose a pretty expensive place. Did you forget how much it cost to get a eat here?"

"Damn," Keitaro sighs again. "You have a point, Shinobu. Just let me find my credit card." He digs deep within his pockets, only to come to a shocking revelation. _I forgot my credit card!_

(O)

Ayumi could only giggle like a schoolgirl after hearing that. "Don't worry, Hun. I'll get it for you." She draws a circle in the air and closes her eyes. In an instant, a card appears out of thin air. It falls to her right hand.

"Cool." Kitsune says.

"Well," Ayumi replies. "Keitaro forgot his credit card, so I took the liberty of retrieving it for him."

"But wouldn't that reveal our location?" Kitsune asks.

"Not if we're swift enough." Ayumi answers. She holds the card between her two fingers and throws it through the window, completely shattering it on the fly.

(O)

Something suddenly flies and lodges itself on the table; the speed of the object freaks Keitaro out.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Keitaro screams. "SHURIKEN!"

After hearing that, everyone at the restaurant goes into panic mode and flees from the place, knocking down tables and chairs, and throwing everything into disarray.

"Sempai!" Shinobu cries out. "We need to get out of here!"

"No, wait a second." Keitaro says. He looks at the object lodged onto the table. He picks it up and identifies it quickly. "How did my credit card get here?"

"IS THAT WHAT IT WAS?" Shinobu screams. "SEMPAI! YOU SCARED THE HELL OUT OF ME! YU MADE ME THINK NINJAS WERE ATTACKING US!"

"I'm sorry!" Keitaro pleads. "Just let me put this credit card away so we can leave."

"Damn," Shinobu complains. "We'll have to find another place for lunch."

"I didn't think this was a good lunch place, anyhow." Keitaro adds.

(O)

"I FOUND THEM!" A kid shouts out, pointing to Ayumi and the others, who are still hiding in the bushes. "I FOUND THE NINJAS!"

"Great job, Ayumi!" Kitsune shouted. "Now everyone knows where we are!" And with that, a crowd surrounds them. The crowd grows big quick, so now the group has nowhere to go.

"We're surrounded!" Naru cries out. "And we're not even part of this!" She's referring to Motoko and herself.

Kitsune whispers in Ayumi's ear. "You know any hocus pocus that can get us out of here?"

"I can make pigs fly." Ayumi answers.

"Cool," Kitsune replies. "Do it."

"Right-o." Ayumi complies. She looks at the crow of people in front of her, and then she points at the sky. "Look up there!" A few people actually look up, and to their surprise, a few hogs with wings are taking flight above them. This puts them into a state of unadulterated panic.

"FLYING PIGS!" One of the crowd goers screams. Everyone looks up, and the flying porkers toss them all into the same dimension of panic.

"IT'S THE APOCALYPSE!" Another one of the crowd goers shouts. Then, the entire crowd completely disperses.

"I can't see what's going on!" Keitaro shouts, trying to get past the panicking populous. "Shinobu! Where are you?"

"You're holding on to my hand, Sempai!" Shinobu answers.

"Oh," Keitaro replies. "Well, let's get the hell out of here!" But before he makes a move, more people trample him. The onslaught of feet pounds his face into absolute disfigurement. He now lies on the ground, black and blue all over.

"Sempai!" Shinobu cries out. "I'll get us out of here!"

"Looks like we gotta run ourselves before the lovebirds spot us!" Ayumi says. With that, she picks up the other girls and carries them, as she runs at quite an inhuman speed, creating a trail of dust at her wake, and another trail of screaming girls, the screams mainly coming from Naru and Motoko.

(O)

"Thanks, Shinobu." Keitaro says, as Shinobu finishes up with her healing spell. The two are standing in front of a wall near a restroom.

"No problem, Sempai." Shinobu replies. "It's a good thing I remembered my spells, or it would take weeks for your face to recover. I guess your bad karma hasn't worn off completely."

"Yeah," Keitaro replies. He turns to Shinobu, with a smile on his face. "Now that my face is okay, I'd like to show you something."

"Sure, Sempai." Shinobu responds. "What is it?"

"Come with me. You'll love it." Keitaro takes her hand and drags her along with him.

(O)

"Where the hell did they go?" Kitsune asks.

"You want me to track them down?" Ayumi replies. "I can pick up their aura from here, and we'll be back to ninja spying in no time."

"Sweet!" Kitsune replies. "Knock yourself out."

"I already found them!" Su exclaims. She points towards Keitaro and Shinobu, who are standing at the arch bridge that they were at earlier.

"Cool." Kitsune responds. "Now we need to find another bush to hid in."

"Here." Ayumi smiles. She points towards another bush, which is right next to the bridge. The others jump into it and seemingly disappear out of sight.

Shinobu stands on the bridge, dressed in one of the most beautiful blue kimonos out there. It literally drags on the floor it's so long; her sleeves are also long, as you can't even see her hands unless she raises an arm. Keitaro, however, is dressed in more western attire; his suit is black with a white button shirt underneath, and a red tie. For decoration, he's also wearing a monocle and a top hat.

"Thanks for the kimono, Sempai." Shinobu says. "It's nice."

"Well, I just rented our outfits." Keitaro replies. "We only have a couple hours left until we have to return them."

"That's ok." Shinobu says in response. "So what should e do, now?"

"I don't know." Keitaro answers. "I was suggesting that maybe we could take pictures. There's a photo booth nearby here, isn't there?"

"I get it." Shinobu replies. "It's that hobby of yours, isn't it? Don't worry; I'm cool with it. Besides, we'd look great with these new outfits on."

"Great," Keitaro says in response. "Hold on. I think I have a pebble in my shoes." Keitaro tries to take the shoe off his left foot, but his bad luck isn't really gone yet, so he trips on his one foot and sends himself on a collision course with Shinobu. His lips quickly meet hers, and they kiss.

A shock runs right through Naru's heart. _They're kissing!_

"Damn! Did you see that?" Kitsune says. "Slick move, Keitaro."

"I'm not seeing this!" Motoko whines, covering her eyes an averting herself away. Su isn't even taking it seriously, judging by her silly expression of enthusiasm.

Naru, on the other hand, stands there like a marble statue that's about to crack. Inside her head, however, is a literal disaster zone, as thought run around her head like a stampede of panicking citizens running from a rampaging Godzilla.

_There it is again! That feeling! Why won't it go away?_

_Why the hell do I care? I don't even like him._

_Actually, I like him a little bit, but not that way._

_I don't even like him!_

_Stop kissing her!_

_Go ahead and continue your little tongue-slap for all I care!_

_There it is again! That feeling! Why won't it go away?_

_When did these feelings come? What did he do to me? He doesn't deserve any affection from me?_

_I want him._

_He's a pervert, and perverts deserve their own room in Hell!_

_But there's something about him._

_No, there isn't! He's just a voyeuristic son of a bitch!_

_There it is again! That feeling! Why won't it go away?_

_I have to stop them, now! I can't let them do this!_

_No, I shouldn't! I'll just leave them there and let them continue their stupid perverted games!_

_I want him._

_I don't want him._

_I…_

In that instant, something hits her head.

You're so wishy-washy, that you weren't able to tell him yourself; you didn't even want to. I, on the other hand, had the courage to tell him right there and then that I love him, and to show affection for him directly, no less. If you truly loved Sempai, you would've confessed to him, long ago, but as it stands, it is far too late. He's mine, now. Sorry if I made you feel like crap right now, but part of me was begging to say that.

_Shinobu, you little brat! Why did you have to turn out like that! Why did you have to say that to me! WHAT THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO DO?_

Ironically, after minutes of indecisiveness and playing the rope for an internal tug-of-war, she runs from the bush that the group was hiding in and takes off without second thought.

"Naru?" Kitsune says. "Where in God's name are YOU going?"

"This isn't good." Ayumi interjects. "I sensed a strong conflict in Naru's head. I think it may have driven her crazy."

"Follow her!" Kitsune shouts. And with that, the others chase down Naru, only to find out that she has disappeared without a trace.

"Where do you think she went?" Motoko asks.

"I'll try to track her down." Ayumi answers. She closes her eyes for a moment. The others look at her closely as she focuses her energy and steadily increases her concentration. Her mind travels the town, looking for the auburn-haired young woman who just ran from the scene. Within minutes, she finds the girl and she opens her eyes. She turns to the others.

"Naru's in the restroom right next to us." Ayumi says. Everyone practically face faults.

"Then, why the hell are we here?" Kitsune says as she stands back up. "We need to get her, now!" Before they make a move, however, Naru suddenly dashes out of the bathroom in Edo-period samurai gear. For a second, the group's puzzled, but the next second they revert back to normal and run after her.

(O)

Keitaro breaks free from their lip lock and gasps for air. "Sorry about that, Shinobu."

"That's all right, Sempai." Shinobu replies. "But you could've asked me to look in your shoe for any pebbles."

"Well hopefully, that will stay behind us." Keitaro says. "I'll just sit down and take my shoe off."

"You do that, Sempai." Shinobu complies. Suddenly, something clicks in her head, telling her to look behind. By the time she turns around, Naru comes running towards her at full speed, with her fist pulled all the way back. Shinobu then realizes that something's amiss.

_HOLY CRAP IN A PITA! SHE'S AIMING THAT FIST AT ME!_

Naru throws her fist at her, ushering in her mightiest punch yet, but Shinobu quickly sees it coming and opens her palm to block it. The sheer force of Naru's attack, however, creates a shockwave, which radiates throughout a five-meter radius. Naru quickly jumps back after the failed assault.

"Naru-sempai!" Shinobu cries out.

"Umm…Shinobu?" Naru says, trying to get a sentence out, but she couldn't let herself come around to it.

"What was that for?" Shinobu demands. "Were you trying to kill me?"

"No, I just…" Naru trails off, again not able to complete the sentence.

"Naru?" Shinobu asks again.

"Well, you shouldn't have…I mean, you can't do that stuff in public!" Naru struggles to keep her composure.

"It was an accident." Shinobu replies, in attempt to clear things up with her.

"Don't…" Naru trails off. She looks at Keitaro. "You pervert! Why did you have to…"

"Naru?" Keitaro is the next to ask. "Why did you attack Shinobu when I was the one who did it?"

This hits Naru hard in the head. "I don't know. I…"

"You're not jealous, are you Naru-sempai?" Shinobu says. She realizes that maybe that wasn't exactly the best thing to say.

"I…" Naru trails off, but in her head, she's screaming. _WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH ME? WHY DOES THIS HAVE TO HAPPEN, NOW?_

"Are you in love with Sempai, or not?" Shinobu demands.

"What?" Keitaro jumps at the sound of that.

"Well?" Shinobu demands again.

"I…" Naru trails off again. Then, she runs.

"What the hell?" Keitaro says, shocked at the girl's sudden decision.

"Naru-sempai, come back!" Shinobu cries out, but it doesn't reach her.

"Not good!" Ayumi says.

Keitaro and Shinobu notice the group and their eyes become circles.

"WHA-YOU GUYS ARE HERE, TOO?" Keitaro shouts at the top of his lungs.

"Sorry about the spying thing." Kitsune answers. "But we shouldn't think about that, damn it! We have someone to catch!"

"There you are, Ayu-kun!" A voice shouts from the distance. Ayumi turns, but sees no one. Then she feels something crawl on her shoulder. She jumps for a second, but turns to her right shoulder and sees that it's just Beardie latching on to her.

"What's up?" The woman asks, like nothing ever happened.

Beardie suddenly squeezes her right cheek. "How many times did I ask you not to leave me in that God-forsaken Duffle bag?"

"Sorry about that." Ayumi answers. "But now isn't the time. We have to catch Naru."

"What is it?" Beardie asks.

"She ran off." Ayumi replies. "She couldn't take the internal conflict in her, so she ran."

"Hurry up, or we'll ditch you!" Kitsune shouts out.

"Coming!" Ayumi follows the others in their chase, their mission to bring Naru back.

(O)

Naru, on the other hand, is hiding behind a gift shop a quarter of a mile away. In this spot, she has a moment to collect her thoughts, which there isn't much at the moment.

"Is that it?" Naru asks herself. "A mindless decision to try and take out Shinobu and then run from the scene? I wasn't even thinking when I did it, either. And to make it even worse, those little 'lovebirds' try to pressure me and complicate everything. What the hell is wrong with them? Why am I such a coward, anyway? Where did it all come from? Maybe that idiot Keitaro rubbed off on me. Damn it!"

She slaps her forehead. "God, this sucks!"

To be continued.

Please review and tell me what you think.

* * *

Coming up next chapter… 

_100 Yen Coin_

Naru continues to run from the Keitaro and the rest of the harem, and at the same time, she tries to collect the pieces of herself that have broken off at the Cinema village. What the rest of the group doesn't expect, however, is a challenge to duel with Shinobu. And the challenge is from Naru herself. How will things turn out from here? Will Naru ever return to her old self? Will she accept Shinobu and Keitaro's love and recognize the fact that this is a romance meant to be, or will her own feelings turn her on them?

* * *

This fic has seventy three hundred and fifty-one hits, and one hundred and thirty five reviews, and in only ten chapters? HOO-RAH! 

**MESSAGE:** To anyone reading this, can you tell me about all the Tokyo U exams by the individual exam's name, the date each one is taken, and the overall description of the exam and the relevance it holds to entering Tokyo U? I don't know a thing about the Tokyo U exams and I really need to if I expect to continue this story, because as it stands, the fic right now is still taking place in August.

Until next chapter, Ciao!

-GYRAX of the Dark Icon Writers


	12. 100 Yen Coin

Note: I do not own Love Hina, or any other intellectual properties. They are all copyrights of their respectful owners. The rest, however, is MINE, BEE-YOTCHES!

**VoidHawk** – Astute as always, I see.

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**that man** – I'm glad you think so.

**NefCanuck** – Thanks for that.

**Havenoname** – I appreciate the comment.

**Baretta** – Heh-heh. Thanks for reminding me. You know I was originally intending that?

**Lee3** – That fic you did. Maybe I could come over and read it some time.

**HotstreakRMD** – I am pretty grateful for that. Thanks for the heads up.

**tomdj1701** – Thanks.

* * *

GYRAX Presents… 

_Awe of She_

Chapter 12: _100 Yen Coin_

_

* * *

You're not jealous, are you Naru-sempai?_

Naru still could not get it out of her head.

_Are you in love with Sempai, or not?_

Images of Shinobu just standing there, mocking her, laughing at her.

_You're so wishy-washy!_

She could not take it anymore. She scratches her head furiously, growing more frustrated with every second. How could she let a girl like her get to her head? "Stop haunting me!" She screams furiously, trying hard to kick those terrible memories out of the confines of her head. "Get the hell out of my head! I made my damn decision already! Just cut it out! Leave me the hell alone!"

For a second, she calms down a bit for some more introspection. Something is still telling her that it is not over, yet. "Maybe I didn't make a decision."

(O)

"Damn! --- You guys run too fast!" Ayumi catches her breath, as she finally is able to meet up with the others at an umbrella stand. One of the most powerful mages out there, and she takes pride in her legs, but she could not even run as fast as Kitsune. She realizes now how dependent on magic she really is.

"Sorry, Ayumi." Kitsune replies, a little confused about how surprisingly slow the good doctor is. "You can just magically make yourself faster if that's your problem."

"I'm trying to conserve my energy, thank you." Ayumi knows quite well that magic is limited and can be wasted as well. In fact, any experienced mage does. "Besides, you guys will need me to track Naru down."

"My Universal Naru-yan detector has detected something!" Exclaims Su enthusiastically, as she grows even more excited within every second. "Ahoy! At a local gift shop!"

"Wow! I'm completely useless!" Although that is far from true, Ayumi sure feels like crap. For a woman her age, she can sure be childish; she does not like being wrong, and in this case, she has no excuse to spend a little magic energy to keep up with the others, since she doesn't have to track Naru down. She does not really like the feeling. She knows she is not useless; she just want to always be right at times, how juvenile.

Su prepares her "Naru-yan Missile Box", which is practically twice her size, all the while getting herself ready for impending combat. She is ready to roll, now! "Fire Anti-Naru cruise missiles!"

Four missiles erupt from the box and shoot off towards the sky. Once they gain enough altitude, they casually cruise in one single direction, heading right to their target.

(O)

"Do I love him or not?" Naru asks herself, diving deeper and deeper into thought. The deeper she goes, the easier it is for frustration to get the best of her. Of course she _likes_ him, but not in that way. Another part of her brain, however, is telling her otherwise. After all the things Keitaro has done over the years, who would not love him? Then again, he has done a lot of lechery, so who would love him?

Well, she likes him, but she would _not_ be caught dead with him. Besides, he already has a legitimate girlfriend. So why not accept it?

She regrets not being able to tell him how she really feels, thus Shinobu beats her to the punch; it hits a few nerves in her.

Now, she does not. Shinobu could just screw him for all she cares.

Stuck in her personal merry-go-round of emotions and personal choices, Naru ends up confusing herself, and scratches her head in fury again, screaming. "AAAAARRRRGH! What the hell should I do?"

Just then, she hears something from the distance. Her ears pick something screaming, the sound coming straight from the sky. Her instincts urge for her to look up. Curious as to what it is, she looks towards the sky, and there she sees "them" heading towards her.

Four missiles are locked on her; this puts the girl into a state of panic. Her adrenaline kicks in, and her brain is set on overdrive as she makes a mad dash for it. For a moment, though, she swears that she has seen the Grim Reaper riding on one of the missiles yelling "WOOOOHOOOOOOOOO!" Naru jumps out of the way to avoid the oncoming trajectories, diving straight at the sidewalks in front of the gift shop.

**BOOM!**

(O)

"Did we get her?" Su runs up to the gift shop excitedly, hoping that she just caught her target.

"You better hope she's alive!" Keitaro shouts, in a panic state of his own over Naru's safety. Su's blatant disregard for the well being of others is really starting to freak him out. This could lead to some unnecessary early wrinkles in his face.

"She is!" Su exclaims merrily. "My Naru-yan detector is still picking up something!"

"Thank God." Keitaro feels relieved for a moment, knowing well that Naru was not hurt, but the feeling does not last, as he quickly remembers that they have not caught her yet; the chase is still ensuing. It is just on pause for the moment. The manager knows full well that Naru can be way too impulsive, and that no one knows what she will do next. Such a drag…

Just then, Naru emerges from the smoke, seemingly unscathed. This puts Keitaro in a state of euphoria --- for a grand total of three seconds. His good mood dissipates after immediately once he picks up the "stare of the devil" coming from the bloodshot eyes of an infuriated Naru. Keitaro knows right there and then that he is screwed over.

This is _not_ good.

"Get the _hell_ away from me, or I'll kick your skeletal ass!" The roar is a ferocious one, coming from deep within Naru's bowels. It shoots chills directly at Keitaro's spine; it is enough to make him tremble in unconditional fear. He wants to run, but his legs are shaking so violently, that he could not even move. It only gets worse when Naru raises her fist. Keitaro covers his eyes and prepares himself for the beating that might end it all. He even sees flashes of his own miserable life before his eyes. Naru, however, punches the ground, creating a massive crack in the ground. It screams towards the rest of the harem. The entire harem prepares for the worst, but the crack stops right in front of Keitaro.

The manager opens his eyes, expecting to see himself in the afterlife, only to see that he is still on this plane of reality. He looks down to see that the crack was right in front of him. He loses the tension from the relief of not having to go through another beating from Naru, especially in the mood she is. Then again, Naru said "_or_ I'll kick your ass"; that means she has given them all an option to stay away from her for their own safety.

Keitaro, however, is still in panic, so he watches her closely; that way he would be able to anticipate her next move hopefully. It never really helped before, but at least he has room to try, doesn't he?

What he does _not_ see coming, however, is Ayumi stepping up with a big grin crossing her face. She seems _real_ happy right now, which is totally not the right mood for this scenario. She even has the audacity to giggle lightly.

"Playtime!" Ayumi exclaims, showing her utmost excitement. She points her right index and middle fingers straight towards Naru. What comes out of those two fingers is one hell of a plasma beam. At light speed, the beam hits its target.

**BOOM!**

The massive explosion sends a shockwave of dust, which hurriedly rockets towards the harem.

Keitaro freaks, taking his state of horror to a whole new level. "OVERKILL!" And just after that, everyone is engulfed by the rapidly expanding cloud of dust. The group is forced to cover their eyes to avoid having the said ocular organs collect dust. Just outside the dust cloud, you could poor Naru deep-fried and touching the sky.

Shinobu uses her wind magic to clear the dust and smoke, so that everyone can be able to see again. They slowly open their eyes, unsure if it was the right time, and if Shinobu really has already cleared the dust. They see that it is a good time to fully open their eyes, and they take no time in doing so.

Keitaro looks around, still in utter horror, hoping to find at least a sign of Naru. He frantically looks all around him, expecting to see Naru. His eyes become the size of vinyl records as he breaks down into the depths of insanity once he realizes that Naru is not even here. Hell, she might not even exist anymore. He freaks.

"Ayumi!" He screams furiously. "What the _hell_ was that for? Are you _trying_ to kill her?"

"She's alive." That dumb smile still lies across her face. "She just got a little singed."

"Singed?"

"My Naru-yan detector has detected something!" Su exclaims happily, as she looks upon her radar with sheer exhilaration. "She's two kilometers ahead!"

Ayumi's eyes meet the manager's. The older woman seems utterly unphased. "See?"

"Don't scare me like that!" Keitaro snarls fumingly, his fright turning into unadulterated wrath. How dare Ayumi play around with his emotions like that? He gnashes his teeth and gives Ayumi a demonic glare, telling her that it was _not_ funny at all. The "stare of the devil" causes the good doctor to flinch.

(O)

"THOSE ASSHOLES!" Naru snarls, apparently hopping mad. She feels like taking a random small object and just slamming it on the floor merely to take this rage of hers out on something or someone. "WHAT THE HELL IS THEIR PROBLEM!" She leans on the wall of another conveniently located building. She so wants to just slam her fists on the wall she is leaning on, anything to let it all out. However, she decides to restrain herself from doing so, but she has to keep that fury of hers insider her as an end result.

"Damn!" She cries out. "Why is the whole world against me? What the hell did I do to deserve this?" Then, various images of her beating the snot out of our favorite manager flash before her eyes. They hit her in the face like a speeding tennis ball. "Aaaargh! Get that out of my head! That wasn't my fault!" She conjures up all her inner strength to wipe that out of her mind. She succeeds, but in the end, she still feels angry. True, she has done a few things wrong, but not anything to deserve this. This is too out of hand; it is outright madness.

"Is this happening to me because I won't make up my mind?" That is the only answer she comes up with, especially because she is not in the mood for any more thinking; this is not a good time to do so. "Is the world turning on me just because I won't make a stupid decision? Isn't that a bit too trivial?" Right now, even God has turned frivolous, as he too has joined the conspiracy; at least that is what she assumes. She sticks to that answer, remembering all of the bad karma that befell her for the last few weeks. One would lose his mind from the madness and seek asylum.

For the time being, though, she has no choice but to play along with this sick game, as she is fed up with it all. She screams at herself. "If it will satisfy you, I'll make up my damn mind! JUST LEAVE ME THE HELL ALONE!" She runs from her hiding spot and hurries into the street, throwing her regrets away, no matter how tightly they cling to her.

(O)

"My Universal Naru-yan detector has detected something!" Exclaims Su enthusiastically, as she grows even more excited within every second. "Ahoy! She's - " Su pauses for a moment, a little skeptical about what the device is telling her, until she looks straight ahead of her. " – right in front of us."

And indeed, Naru stands firm in front of them. Her eyes show a very different expression than before; it is a look of determination and clear-mindedness.

At first, Keitaro questions himself, asking whether or not it is safe to approach her, now. A few more seconds and he realizes that she has made a solid decision of some kind. It is not an expression he sees often, which puzzles him for a few more seconds. Just what is this girl up to? Did she finally make up her mind? If so, does she love him or not? Just thinking about it sends chills down his spine, causing him to tremble in expectation.

Naru, however, is not looking at _him_, but rather she is staring at Shinobu behind him. What exactly does she want from the bluenette? Whatever the reason is, she looks belligerent, and Shinobu is definitely picking up her stare; the girl feels a bit intimidated.

Naru finally opens her mouth and unleashes her voice in order to make her intent clear. "Shinobu! I challenge you to a duel!" It sounded crisp and very determined. This does not sound like the Naru they know.

Did they hear that right? Naru wants to fight --- for _real_?

(O)

They decide that the arched bridge from earlier would be a suitable place for a one-on-one. The two participants stand at the center; they are _still_ in costumes. The clamoring tourists and local populous gather around one-by-one to witness the "play" staged before them. People cover both ends of the bridge, seemingly trapping the two girls in.

As Keitaro looks on with the rest of the group, he could only wonder what exactly the two are going to be fighting over. Hell, he could hardly believe that his girl is actually Naru. Not that the others were _not_ befuddled, too.

"Ready?" Naru cries out, not over thinking anymore. Right now, she has had enough of that.

"Ready!" Shinobu responds without missing a beat. Though she has no idea of what the fight is for, something tells her she has to win.

Keitaro wants to cross his fingers, but he cannot, as he does not want to divert his attention away from the scene, either. Though his eyes are stuck facing forward, he experiences a strong tension within himself; two of his best friends are about to go at it, so of course he has his reasons to be concerned.

It starts.

Naru grabs her bokken and darts towards Shinobu at Mach-1 speed. Unfortunately for her, Shinobu's reflexes prove far superior, as she effortlessly smacks the bokken out of her hand, opens her own right palm, and sends a blow to Naru's right eye. And just like that, the fight is over, much to the astonishment of the ongoing crowd.

Keitaro's heart quickly pounds his chest; Shinobu's blow has him scared out of his wits. His eyes grow to the size of frying pans as the shock overtakes his nervous system, forcing him to freeze in his tracks. How could Shinobu do such a thing to her? Has she completely lost her mind? Apparently, the others have their eyes just as wide.

Naru now lies on the floor; she fell back a foot from the force of the blow. She only lies still for a second. She slowly pushes herself up and looks at Shinobu. She has to face it now; she is completely outclassed. However, as she keeps her eyes locked on Shinobu, she smiles. What for?

Shinobu could not help but to wonder what is going on in her head at this very moment.

Keitaro is also scratching his head. Naru is not usually a good sport, so this wierds out the manager even more. Is this even Naru at all?

"He's all yours." Naru says. "You can have him."

Shinobu could not stop herself. "Excuse me?"

"Keep him. You _are_ his promise girl after all."

"Naru-sempai?"

"Don't you want him?"

"You mean Sempai?"

"Who doi you think I mean? Of course I mean Keitaro! Go out and fulfill your promise. I'm not holding you back."

"Seriously?"

"I'm serious. I'm over it, now."

"You mean you loved him?"

"Not that way. You do, though, don't you?"

"Are you ok, Naru-sempai?"

"I'm fine. Go out with him. Marry him! Don't bother me with it."

"You sure."

"Yes, I'm sure! Just do it!"

Shinobu stands silent, still bewildered as to what is running in Naru's mind. Is Naru really okay with just letting it go like that, or is this a trick of some kind? She asks herself over and over as she watches Naru walk away from her and exit the arched bridge. The crowd parts way so she can get through.

Keitaro's brain is near meltdown now. First Naru was practically a demon, then she challenged Shinobu to a duel, only to get hit in the freaking eye, and then she turns happy-go-lucky and just leaves. Keitaro is not really able to make sense of what happened this afternoon, so to save himself any more frustration, he simply drops the case and runs towards Shinobu. "Shinobu?"

"Sempai?"

"Why did you hit her in the eye?"

"Oh, that." Shinobu pauses for a second. "I forgot to tell her; I healed her right eye. It's back to normal, now."

"I forgot she even had a green eye." Kitsune added abruptly.

"Well, aren't you going to get her?"

"Eh?"

"You should tell her."

"If you insist." Shinobu runs off, hoping she will be able to catch up with her.

The manager is glad that she took her time to get that green eye problem off of her. At the same time, the poor man is dumbfounded because apparently he forgot about the green eye, too. He stands there, watching his newfound girlfriend run off towards Naru.

(O)

"Naru-sempai!" Shinobu shouts out, hoping that maybe she will hear her out. To her delight, she turns around so their eyes could meet one another. However, Naru starts to give off a hint on irritation. Shinobu takes a step back, thinking that maybe she is bothering her in some way.

"What?" Naru responds, her voice also giving off a hint of irritation.

Shinobu assumes that it is her fault for setting her off that way. "I just wanted to tell you that I fixed your eye." She hopes that this will change her mood for the better. However, Naru just ends up confused, to Shinobu's disappointment.

"Eh?"

"Your eye. It's just fine now."

"My eye?"

"I hit it because I wanted to heal it, to make up for all of the things I have done to you."

"You lifted my curse?" Naru turns ecstatic, thinking that maybe her bad luck is finally gone. Maybe she made the right decision back there. Alas, it is not to be.

"Actually, I don't know how to lift curses."

As a response, Naru's eyes are reduced to little black dots, showing her disappointment.

"I did heal your eye though. Aren't you happy about that?"

Naru regains her composure. "Yeah it is. Thanks." She smiles, although disappointed by the slip of bad news. That smile is contagious, and Shinobu catches that said contagion; she smiles with her.

Naru's smile dissolves into a curious face. "I forgot I had a green eye."

Shinobu almost face faults.

Please review and tell me what you think.

* * *

Coming up next chapter… 

_Cram Session_

With the summer behind them, Shinobu, Keitaro, and Naru prepare themselves for the upcoming Tokyo U exams. Meanwhile, Ayumi swears that she senses someone nearby.

* * *

Until next chapter, Ciao! 

-GYRAX of the Dark Icon Writers


	13. Cram Session

Note: I do not own Love Hina, or any other intellectual properties. They are all copyrights of their respectful owners. The rest, however, is MINE, BEE-YOTCHES!

* * *

GYRAX Presents…

_Awe of She_

Chapter 13: _Cram Session_

* * *

"We're finally back home!" Naru shouts with unbridled enthusiasm. She and the rest of the crew are finally back at their oh-so-beloved apartment complex. They both march to the lobby, so glad to be home.

"The trip to Kyoto was fun," Keitaro replies. "But it's just good to be home again." Everything about the Hinata Sou at this moment is a pleasure to the manager's senses. He feels refreshed as even the funny odor from the hardwood floor smells welcoming to him. He feels like taking a nap on the couch in the lobby right now, but he knows there's some unpacking and a little work to do first.

Naru gorws a concerned face all of a sudden, which makes Keitaro wonder. He directs himself towards her to see what the problem is, as is natural. "Something wrong, Naru?"

"Looks like she's regretting the decision she made a few hours ago." Kitsune remarks.

"Actually," Naru replies. "I was thinking about how sad Maehara-san was when she found out we were going to leave."

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"PLEASE DON'T LEAVE ME, SHINOBU! WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO WITHOUT YOU HERE!" Aethra holds Shinobu's ankles, practically begging for her to stay, all the while kicking her feet and throwing a temper tantrum like a five-year-old. "PLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEASE! I NEED YOU GUYS HERE!"

"Don't worry, Mommy Dearest." Ayumi says assuringly. "I'll keep a good eye on them."

"BUT I WANT THEM HEEEEEEEEEEERE!"

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"She'll get over it." Keitaro replies calmly, but deep inside he is trying too hard to push that memory out of his head.

Naru sighs. "After we unpack, we go straight to studying for the exams, got it?" She looks back at Shinobu, who is standing behind her. "And that goes for you too, Shinobu. In fact, we have extra work tutoring you. We'll have to get you up to speed if you ever expect to fulfill that promise with Keitaro." She does not regret saying that. She does not want to.

Shinobu is caught a little bit off guard by that statement, but a second later, she feels good after hearing that. She seems to be glad that Naru is acting so encouraging towards their goal. A smile crosses her face. "Of course, Naru-sempai. I intend on seeing this through to the end."

"Then let's get unpacking. We're studying in my room." She looks at Keitaro for a second. "And don't you try anything stupid on me."

Keitaro could just nod his head.

"I'm a sucker for sappy stuff." Ayumi remarks, as she leans over towards Kitsune, who is standing at her left.

"You're not alone." Kitsune pulls out a hankerchief.

(O)

"Let's start off with this problem over here." Naru points one of the various books scattered across the floor.

"Oh God," Keitaro sighs, obviously not having a good time here. "Why did we have to do Math first?"

"To get it overwith." Naru replies. "I know you hat Math, so we need to get that one done first, so you don't have to deal with it later. It's better for you."

"Whatever." Keitaro sighs again, not liking Naru's logic, though he hates to admit that she could be right.

"First off," Naru continues. "We'll review simple equations."

"Are you trying to mock me?"

"I just want to help."

"Well, you're not helping!"

"Don't be ungrateful! I'm doing this for your own good. It's called 'Tough Love'."

"Sempai, could you help me with this problem?" Shinobu hangs over Keitaro's shoulder, drawing a centimeter closer every second.

"Umm, sure. Point it to me." Keitaro starts to feel uncomfortable about how close she is to him. He start to sweat bullets like a glandular shotgun.

"Right here." Shinobu points to her specified problem, but at the same time, she has her left arm wrapped around him, and she's practically breathing down his neck. Poor Keitaro is practically feeling a steam engine blowing on him. You can say he is _really_ feeling the heat.

And needless to say, Naru is _not_ liking it. "Will you give him some personal space, please?"

"Sorry, Naru-sempai." Shinobu quickly backs off from Keitaro, complying with Naru's order. Proximity is no longer an issue for the ronin, at least for now. Keitaro goes back to studying, but he remembers that he has to help Shinobu with a problem, so he turns his head towards her for a second.

"Alright Shinobu. You wanted me to help you with this problem, right?"

"Sure." The bluenette looks over his shoulders again. She forgets that she is breathing on his neck again. The poor ronin feels the steam engine's full blast again.

"Shinobu. You're touching me again."

"Cut it out, Shinobu!"

"Sorry, Naru-sempai." The bluenette backs away again. Naru feels that it is up to her to take this little problem under control, so she calls to her.

"Shinobu, can you come here, I'll help you."

"Okay." Shinobu approaches Naru, giving Keitaro some breathing space again. Once the bluenette is looking over her shoulders, Naru turns her head towards her.

"What's the problem?"

"I'ts over there." Shinobu points to the same problem, but at the same time, she has her left arm wrapped around Naru, and she's breathing down the poor girl's neck. Naru's face turns blue with discontent, and deep inside she begins to freak. However, this is Shinobu, not Keitaro, so she has to maintain her composure.

"Shinobu, please stop that."

"Sorry Naru-sempai."

(O)

"What's _her_ problem?" Kitsune could not help but stare. She is puzzled as to what Ayumi could be up to, as the good doctor just stands there in the lobby, staring directly at the front door without even blinking. The way she stands there irritates the hell out of Kitsune.

Motoko approaches her, wondering what on Earth has Kitsune's goat. Instead of asking her, the samurai takes a close look at Kitsune and figures out what direction she is staring at. She then looksa in the same direction and she too notices Ayumi, standing there like she died and someone was trying to play "Weekend at Bernies" with her lifeless body. What Motoko really asks herself is why Kitsune does not just go over to her and ask her what the deal is. She gets over it quickly and just saves fox-eyes the trouble by asking the good doctor herself.

"What's the problem?"

"I sense a disturbance in the force."

"Come to think of it, me too. It wouldn't just go away, so I was going to investigate it."

"Who do you think it is?"

"Don't ask."

"I already did."

"Never mind that. Should we just leave this one alone?"

"Hell no."

"Exactly waht I was thinking."

"Luckily, I have a magic defense system I bought from Ebay. I beat the highest bidder, but I had to use AuctionSniper to do it."

"That was _my_ money you used, too!" Beardie protests from Ayumi's left shirt pocket.

"Hush up. At least now we have a use for it. I'm installing it on the roof."

"You sure it's necessary?" Motoko simply asked. "I could just fend them off with my Rock Splitting Sword."

"Nah," Ayumi replies casually. "They say we live in a lazy generation, so act like it." And with that, she leaves the household.

"She speaks my language." Kitsune mutters from the background.

(O)

"Why me?" Shinobu whines. Now, the poor girl is tied up to a chair; apparently, her little "close encounters" have Keitaro and Naru at wit's end, so they are forced to take extreme measures to ensure she does not do it again. At the same time, they feel so sorry for her. Surely, God above is enjoying his share of slapstick humor.

"It's for your own good, Naru answers. "You shouldn't be breathing down our necks like that. We're deeply sorry."

"Why did you tie me up, though?"

"Good way to kick a habit. Now Keitaro and I will be tutoring you while you're tied up-"

"But I can't move my arms."

"That's ok. Once we're done, you can use our notes."

"Sure that will help me? Can't you just help me out-"

"It'd be better if we taught you the ins and outs of the Tokyo U exams."

Naru stands in the background as Keitaro stands in front of her in the foreground. Both of them wearing business suits of sorts.

"The exams are split into different groups," Keitaro recites. "They're English, Math, Japanese History, Goegraphy, and Japanese Literature. These exams are taken at various times before the actual semester starts. Of course that is to determine who gets in and who doesn't. They ain't easy that's for sure. Naru standing behind me can tell you that. She was number one in the mock exams, but she flopped like a mudskipper."

"Hey!"

"And I failed for three years straight. So, there's no guarantee we may even make it this time around."

Keitaro pulls out a Walther P22 compact pistol. "And now, Naru will attempt to catch a bullet with her teeth."

"WHAT!"

Keitaro aims it at Naru's mouth. "Now remember what we practiced."

"WE PRACTICED NOTHING, DIPSH-"

**BANG!**

Naru now lies on the floor, petrified. All the while Keitaro scolds at her instead of checking to see if she is injured in any way, because chances are she could have been. This infuriates her.

"Naru," Keitaro syas. "That wasn't part of the act. Why'd you flinch?"

Naru just about had it, now.

"**ASSWIPE!**"

And off goes our favorite ronin, straight up through the roof and into the sky. His graceful flight among the clouds, however, is stopped short by a barrage of lasers. Blue, green, and violet beams of light fry him to a potato chip crisp.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?" Naru screams in shock.

"Did Su set up a security system?" Shinobu asks, still tied to her chair.

(O)

"Thanks, Keitaro!" Ayumi yells from the front porch. "You just saved me the trouble of looking for a guinea pig!"

"Are you sure that this is a necessary measure?" Beardie asks, still residing in her jacket pocket.

"We're on terror alert red, my friend. Extraordinary measures are to be taken to ensure the safety of this household. We don't want our dear step-sister to fall into the wrong hands, do we?"

"Of course not!"

"Then just trust me on this." The good doctor pushes up her glasses. "Now let's go to the market get a snack."

"God, you're hopeless." The lizard partner sighs in defeat. Sometimes, that woman can be such a moron.

(O)

"Are you ok, Sempai?" Shinobu asks, standing beside his smoking carcass. Oh no, she cannot let him die now. Of course, she is worried.

Something else gets Naru, however. "How'd you get out of those ropes, Shinobu?"

"Magic, Naru-sempai."

A long pause fills the air, with smoke still escaping Keitaro's ash-ridden body.

"You're supposed to be tied to a chair while we teach you the ins and outs of the Toudai exams!" She points to Keitaro. "But this fool had to pull off a Pen and Teller on me and he almost shot me dead!"

"Come one, Naru sempai! He's sorry, isn't he? Maybe i should tie myself back up to the chair you you two can continue."

"No need. I think we're done for the day. Now we have to wait for this ash pile to recover, the idiot." She looks at Keitaro. The ronin is still crispy, still burning.

Naru looks back up at the hole she made on the roof. "Still, where did those lasers come from?" She shrugs her shoulders, convinced instantly that it could have been Su, as always. She is not phased by it very much.

"Naru? Don't you think we should be helping Sempai? He could be seriously hurt here."

"Don't bother. He's used to it."

Keitaro lies there, just opening his eyes after hearing that remark. "Ouch."

(O)

"What was that I heard?" Su comesrunning downstairs and towards Kitsune and Motoko in the lobby. She picks up a few weird vibes for a second, but only for a second.

"That wasn't you?" Kitsune turns her head towards the foreign girl.

"Why no, it wasn't." Su has had a feeling that Kitsune would not believe her at first. Kitsune apparently has forgotten about something already.

"Kitsune, Ayumi already said that she set up a magic defense grid an hour ago." Motoko informs her, in a calm but slightly irritated tone.

"Crap, I forgot." Not the fox just feels stupid. She figures now that she could have a short-term memory. Really, how could she have forgotten that already?

"Magic defense grid?" Su repeats. She does not like the feeling of this; the fact that Ayumi has something like that installed gives her the impression that she could also be some kind of technical genius of sorts. If she is right, there may only be room for one technophile. This _cannot_ be good for our foreign banana-eater.

Su turns towards the fox, showing a face of concern. Actually, it would be better to say pouty face. "Is Su going to be replaced?"

Kitsune puts on a shocked look on her face. "HELLZ NO!"

"Really?" A feeling of relief now overtakes Su's systems.

"Really. You're our one and only banana-eating techno-maniac! And if she tries to, I'll give her a good 'Sylvester Stallone' right in the kisser!" In sheer excitement, she sccidentally punches Su right in the face. The poor girl collapses, passing out almost instantly.

Now, the fox is _really_ feeling dumb. "Whoops."

"Point well taken." Motoko remarks from the background. She walks out of the lobby, probably to the basement where she can train some more. She cannot do that on the roof because the defense grid would annihilate anything that moves. Ayumi should have tweaked it a bit more. Kitsune picks up Su and carries her off to her room, hoping no one will suspect her.

(O)

"You're saying I'm not welcome?" A lone woman says to herself, as she stands in front of the Hinata House. She sees the defense grid on the roof, and it looks like the magic turrets are aiming directly at her. The woman stands firm, not moving a single inch; she stares back at the gunnery good and hard, examining the very features of the automatic mounted weapons.

"Heat seekers, eh?" She did not even let out a smile. She just reaches in her purse and pulls out what looks like --- a _watermelon_? And it has a _fuse_ on it?

"Sorry, darling, but at least you'll serve a very noble purpose." She lights the fuse on the fruit and throws it high into the air. The turrets pick up the heat from the fuse instantly and open fire, obliterating the watermelon instantaneously. The woman makes a break for it and quickly opens the door and runs into the house before the turrets get a chance to aim back at her.

(O)

"Ignore that." Naru says, knowing full well that is just the security grid doing its job. Shinobu, on the other hand, feels a little worried.

"What if those guys were visitors?" The bluenette asks. "We may have reduced them to smoldering skeletons!"

"We really need to talk to Ayumi about that defense system." Keitaro adds, also with a hint of uneasiness in his voice.

"All right." Naru replies, sighing in defeat. She can see where he is getting at. "I guess you might have a point there. The thing did fry Keitaro, so we can't take any chances. Let's go downstairs."

All three stand up and head out of Naru's room. They all walk downstairs, looking around to see if the good doctor is in the lobby. Their search is instantly cut short when they realize who's lying on the lobby, seemingly dead. They all freeze in pure shock.

"GOOD LORD! MUTSUMI!"

To be continued.

Tell me what you think. I know that this is not a spectacular chapter by any means.

* * *

See you next chapter. _Watermelon Paradise_

-GYRAX


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